Dragon Nest: Lost Love
by Kimura Yumi
Summary: Yumi, a young archer, is sent to a boarding school where she meets Kyuubi, a cleric 2 years older. They got separated 2 years later in a war. What happens when they meet again after 5 years' time?
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dragon Nest.**

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><p><strong>Characters:<br>Yumi - Archer  
>Shiki - Warrior<br>Kyuubi - Cleric  
>Amaya - Sorceress<strong>

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><p>"Haha Yumi, you can't run away from me..." a boyish voice of a child echoed out in the lush green forest of Prairie woods. Small, light footsteps were heard in an uneven rhythm and there was the sound of laughter every few seconds. However, there was a rock in his path which the young boy failed to notice. He ran straight forward and tripped over the rock, falling straight on the soiled ground. His face smacked against the floor, making him cry out in sheer pain.<p>

"Ouch!" he cried. The sound of dainty yet swift footsteps in front of him slowed down, then finally coming to a stop. Curious as to know why the sound has ceased, he looked up and saw a pair of small-sized pumps with a distinct glow of blue, worn by legs wrapped in high socks, right in front of his hazel eyes. He looked up in a direction to the sky and saw his white- haired friend standing there with her hand stretched out.

"Shiki, are you okay? Your face looks red and swollen." she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, Yumi," he snapped for a brief moment, then stopped as he saw her face clouded with worry and sadness. A pang of guilt struck his small heart, like a dagger that had just been stabbed through that important internal organ, right beneath his chest.

"I-I'm sorry, Yumi," he stuttered. However, the little girl's behaviour was as if nothing had happened. She smiled cheerily and replied,"No, it's fine. Now get up, it's not fun to play without you, you know!" she said jokingly.

He noticed that her hand, slightly pale in colour, was still there. He reached out and grabbed the hand with his own. Slowly, the girl, now known as Yumi, pulled Shiki up. As he got up, he wiped his pants sloppily, like how other boys would normally do when they get up after falling. Then he looked into Yumi's emerald eyes and blushed ever so slightly.

"Thank you, Yumi," he said softly, in an audible voice. All she did was to smile and say,"No problem, Shiki. We're friends, after all."

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><p>"So did you like her as first glance?" the sorceress asked in curiosity, leaning against the warrior's broad shoulder, arms linked and resting on a patch of green grass. The warrior smiled and looked at the sky with his hazel eyes. He patted the sorceress on her bright pink-haired head with his free hand.<p>

"Perhaps, Amaya, you can say that." he said looking up at the bright blue sky with hazel orbs. White clouds drifted lazily across it. Those patches of white did remind him of someone, the someone whom he'd been talking about to his girlfriend just now.

But that part was only the beginning of the story.

The actual romance past that lied behind him and two of his mission teammates. One of them, being his childhood friend.

And it all happened in the past. About 8 years ago, when they were just adolescent children.

Yumi... all that he could do was to pray for her that she would be safe and sound up there in the heavens, with her love.

Praying for his childhood friend... it seems to put him at ease. However there was a small twinge of guilt in his heart beneath, reminding him of what he did to her…

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><p><strong>LOL short chapter, but this is like, the… intro thingy. I promise you that the next chapter will be longer :D<br>**

**Please R&R thank you. 12-year-old, signing out.**


	2. Plans for departure

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dragon Nest.**

**BUT I OWN DA CHARACTERS (BD) - emoticon xD  
><strong>

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><p><strong>Characters:<br>Yumi - Archer  
>Shiki - Warrior<br>Kyuubi - Cleric  
>Amaya - Sorceress<strong>

Yumi had just helped Shiki up when a synchronised voice called out,"Shiki! Yumi!" worriedly. Yumi spun round and within a blink and a loud uneven tap rhythm against the ground the mothers of both children were standing there.

"Yumi! Are you okay?" one of the archers cried while embracing her daughter. She had her blonde locks tied into a high ponytail. "You should've told me where you were going! You might have a relapse!"

Yumi had something she didn't tell Shiki - she had an inborn illness. Every two hours her brain would be drained of oxygen for quite a while and she would faint from lack of that significant gas.

"I'm fine... Mam... mii..." the little girl's voice wavered as her head drooped slightly backwards. Her eyes abruptly closed and the small, fragile-looking frame became limp. Her mother's face showed signs of horror and shock.

"Chika!" she called out to the other archer. "I'm making a move first, Yumi has just gone through a relapse!" The other archer, now known as Chika, nodded while attending to her blonde-haired son's injury. The archer then leapt off the forest grounds, into the treetops, and towards Prairie Town with Yumi unconscious in her arms in a flurry of colours.

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><p>All she saw was darkness. Spooky, scary and... frightening.<p>

She was all alone. In this dark world. She frantically looked around and desperately called out,"Mother? Father?"

"Where are you!" she screamed out in fear. "I need you!" She could feel the presence of chilly air around her.

She shivered and huddled into nothing more than a lump. She could feel the presence of evil in the still atmosphere. Suddenly a ghost dressed in white, holding a matching white scythe, pounced on her. She shrieked in sheer horror. She turned around and immediately ran as far as her legs would carry her. There was however an unnoticeable pit in her path and she ran straight, never stopping once to look back - and fell straight into the deep pit! She squealed in alarm as she landed on the cold ground with a "thud". The ghost came across the pit and looked down directly onto her small, frail body. It laughed menacingly, its blood red eyes seemingly protruding out of its original pale-coloured eye socket. Trembling with fright, she screamed as high-pitched and as loud as she could. Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead as her skin tone faded to yet a much more paler colour than her own normal skin.

She then heard a voice in her head. "Yumi! I'm here!"

She mustered up the strength and courage to clamber out of the pit and ran towards the source of light. She didn't care about that reaper monster.

Because she knew that that voice would and can save her.

As she ran, the world of darkness was being overcame with pure light.

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><p>Yumi's small eyes fluttered open. She found herself in her own bedroom, the one with no windows. Her parents were by her side, a relieved yet anxious look being plastered on their faces.<p>

"Yumi!" her mother exclaimed. "Are you feeling better?"

The girl simply nodded. Her father then spoke,"Yumi... I feel regretful to tell you this, but we have decided to send you to a boarding school."

She plainly nodded again, silent. "The food and lodging there is good, much better than us," her father continued. "I think it will be good if your illness can be treated there. You will also learn many things there too."

" So, you shall go tomorrow, okay?"

There was just another mere nod. Her parents beamed with pride. "We're so proud of you for being brave, Yumi!"

"I understand, mother and father." a small voice came out. They then left the room. After idly staring at the door which her parents just left for a few minutes straight, she then plunged her head into the pillow and sobbed hysterically. Occasional screams would come out every now and then.

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><p>Yumi's mother was outside her daughter's door, about to come in with a story to tell when she heard muffled sobbing and sometimes a very loud, piercing scream. She felt a pang of guilt hitting her heart, but it would have to do, she and Andrew had already talked about this. He claimed that "it would be the best for her".<p>

She knew this would happen. She knew she would start crying for them even before school has started. She knew that that would definitely happen. She slammed her fist onto the wall with plain anger.

"Damn... Why must she go!" she screamed in her head. As soon as that fist landed on the wall, the crying immediately stopped.

No more sobbing.

No more screaming.

It was eerily quiet.

She left her fist there sticking onto the wall and gasped in horror as memories of her past flooded her head.

_During her time, spells would be casted on children who were the ripe age of ten. She was nine then. It just so happened that her birthday, which was supposed to be a joyous occasion, was on the day of the ritual when the spells were casted. Every year the Lagendia government would send a number of skilled sorceresses who knew the spell AND also already been affected by it, to all the villages._

_It was her tenth birthday, and her parents were celebrating it with her. There was an enormous cake before her, decorated with pink. She was about to grab the knife and cut the pink-frosted cake when suddenly the door was slammed open and a blue-haired woman was standing there. The woman then pulled out her staff and waved it towards her parents._

_She gasped, not knowing what was actually happening. Before she knew it, her parents' heads were spinning, they eyes going into a series of wild colours. Stretching out their hands, they walked with stiff footsteps towards the blue-haired person, almost as if they had no life._

_Just like zombies._

_They stood by the woman, who had a vicious look on her face._

_That was the last time she ever celebrated her birthday with the heartwarming love of her family before the blue-haired person then waved the long wooden staff at her. All she saw then was a flash of light, then a sheet of black enveloped her vision, sealing part of the good self and arousing the evil one from its slumber._

Yumi's mother huffed and puffed in exhaustion. Those times were so painful, and she didn't want to let her own daughter undergo such pain. Now the government had changed the rules, and ordered the sorceress to come only every five years. She smiled unconsciously, as if that thought had comforted her.

They wanted to send her not because of the food and lodging problems, but... they didn't want to abuse their daughter should the evil mind take control of them in the future. It might even be resorted to murder.

Removing the fist from the wall, she held the doorknob by its round body, turned it and entered the room.

Yumi was sitting on the bed, red and swollen-eyed. She sniffled as one last tear escaped the corner of her right eye.

"Hello, mother," she said and gave a faint smile.

"Yumi, I'm going to tell you your favourite story."

Yumi beamed with happiness. Her favourite story Vampire Knight, was actually a manga but her mother simplified it to be much more simpler in her version.

"Once, there was a girl called Yuuki Cross," she began.

"Now, she lived with her foster father, Kaine Cross, her school chairman, and another student Zero Kiriyuu. Zero was also found and adopted by Chairman Cross. His family of hunters were killed by a mad pureblood, only he survived but was severely wounded by the vampire..."

...

Yumi listened on to every part of the story eagerly, not missing one bit as her mother introduced the two remaining purebloods Kaname Kuran and Sara Shirabuki. Then her mother continued on about how Zero and Kaname fought, Sara trying to manipulate the other vampires to do her bidding by giving them blood tablets made with her own blood, etc.

Her mother checked the clock. It was already eleven, how late!

"Yumi, it's getting pretty late, so I'm stopping here. A look of disappointment flashed on her face.

"Well, but that was almost the end of the whole story..." the motherly figure sighed. "So don't feel disappointed!"

"It's getting late, go to bed now," her mother ushered. Yumi nodded and snuggled under the warm covers. Her mother smiled and left the room, stealing one more look of her daughter before heading to her own room. When she left, Yumi slowly sat up. She had a distressed look.

"Mother... I don't want to go," she whimpered softly. Then she hid herself beneath the covers and fell into a deep slumber, dreading for the next day to come.

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><p>The young warrior was seething with anger and stamped his foot against the floor of his bedroom in frustration. He had been eavesdropping on Yumi's family's conversation earlier on, but had ran back home, fearing that he would be found out.<p>

Shiki checked the clock. It was already about twelve midnight. His mother would probably be asleep by now.

He then decided to visit Yumi and check on her current state. He sprinted to Yumi's house, knocked on the door and hid in a nearby bush. When Yumi's mother tiredly opened the door in a bit of a slow motion, he crouched low and crawled inside the house. Meanwhile Yumi's mother was puzzled. She yawned.

"A prank knock...?" was what popped into her mind before closing the door.

Shiki snuck to the door which he thought might be Yumi's room. There were 2 doors and he had to be quick in his selection.

"Eenie Meenie Minee Mo... Which door should I choose to go?" he mused to himself. Making a quick decision, he crept over to the left door, opened it and stealthily entered the room.

Once he stepped inside, he knew almost immediately that he was in hot soup. Andrew was sleeping very soundly, arms and legs sprawled on the bed untidily. His snores was so deafening that the whole building might just collapse. Shiki darted to the door and was about to reach for the doorknob when the door miraculously opened by itself! He was taken aback and hid behind a nearby table leg as Yumi's mother stepped into the room. As the door was left open, Shiki took this opportunity to clamber out of the room.

Once he was out, he backed against a nearby wall, fully drenched in sweat. If he hadn't escaped the room in time, who knows what would happen. Yumi's mother might tell HIS mother about this, and he would get an annoying earful from his mum for sneaking out so late at night. "Darn it..." he thought. If Yumi was asleep by then, his efforts of coming here would be absolutely futile.

He entered the next room. It was filled with an outburst of blue. On the blue bed lay Yumi, already sleeping.

Oh no. He'd come too late.

He walked to Yumi's side and stared at her pale-skinned face. A relaxed expression stared back at him. He chuckled softly at how cute Yumi looks when sleeping. Unknowingly, he began to lose himself in his thoughts. He lightly stroked her warm rosy cheek and stared at her torso, rising and falling, rising and falling. His thoughts began to run wild.

"Stop!" an inner voice said. "What on earth are you thinking!" Shiki blinked. He took those words lightly to heart . Those pale pink lips of Yumi's mouth was so slim, so beautiful, so tempting.

He then leaned in closer so that his nose was slightly touching Yumi's. Slowly the upper lip touched. He was about to lean in a little more when suddenly he stopped. There seemed to be an invisible force that held him back.

"What," he gasped,"is this?"

He then realised that it was his conscience. He shouldn't be stealing her first kiss, nor kiss at such an age. He knew that his mother Chika would slaughter him alive. So he moved back and just leaned in beside her ear.

"Don't forget me," he whispered, before standing up properly and leaving the house.

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><p><strong>Don't ask me how I did it in a day, I did this overnight. Aiming for 2k per chapter. This one's like 1k only, sorry! XD Doing job advancement test for my little Amaya (Elementalist) now, so don't disturb me.<strong>

**TRESPASSERS WHO DISTURB MEH WILL BE EXECUTED IMMEDIATELY!~ BANG BANG (BD) **

**Okay, I'm practically dying now, so until then, _ciao_! Don't forget to R&R. 12-year-old, signing out.**

**EDIT: Edited version XD Give thanks to Aemire for pointing out the flaws and loopholes, whatever there is :3 I hope you enjoy it ^^**


	3. Being hurt

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dragon Nest.**

****BUT I OWN DA CHARACTERS (BD)****

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><strong>Characters:<strong>

**Yumi - Archer**

**Shiki - Warrior**

**Kyuubi - Cleric**

****Amaya - Sorceress****

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><p><p>

Yumi woke up in response to her mother lightly shaking her small body by the hip. "Wake up, Yumi." her mother's voice echoed in her head. Yumi let out a soft groan as she sat up, stretching herself.

"It's today..." her mother reminded her. Yumi nodded. "I know." she responded. The motherly figure then ushered her daughter to change into her warmest clothes before going outside of the room to wait. After a good five minutes, Yumi came out of her room wearing a simple sky blue dress, her hair tied up into a small yet high ponytail Her neck was wrapped with a blue scarf and she had white leggings. Lastly her small feet were wearing the same bright blue pumps that she wore yesterday. She had a sling bag over her shoulder, containing her pencil box, her diary and her bow and quiver of arrows inside.

"I'm ready," Yumi announced, trying to fake a confident face and attitude. Her parent smiled at the sight of her cheerful behaviour.

"That's the attitude," Andrew smiled and patted his white-haired daughter. Together the family of three made their way towards the Prairie forest. For a second, Yumi thought that the school was deep inside the forest. But why wear such warm clothes? It was already making her sweat buckets before even reaching the forest grounds.

"Erm... Father?" she called out softly as they reached the entrance of the forest.

"Yes, my dear Yumi?" Andrew stopped and turned around to face his daughter.

"Why are we going to the forest?" she asked curiously. "What are these warm clothes for, anyway? They make me feel so hot and stuffy."

Andrew chuckled and turned to his wife. "Zoe, why didn't you tell Yumi?" The blonde archer slapped her forehead in utter disbelief.

"Oh yes!" she exclaimed. "It completely slipped my mind!"

The blonde mother archer Zoe turned to Yumi. "Yumi, your boarding school is located at Mana Ridge."

Yumi cringed. Mana Ridge was a cold place. Some even called it "the land of never-ending snow". Also it was quite a long journey from the Prairie grounds, especially on foot. It was approximately 26km away. She gulped.

"_No wonder... But why, of all places_?" she thought. "_Why Mana Ridge?_" Suddenly a thought struck her. Zoe had told her about Mana Ridge, being the holy land for sorceresses and clerics. From her on-the-spot interpretation, she defined that her parents are now sending her there not just for food and the lodging reasons, but more likely, to strengthen her physical strength so she will not have a relapse that easily.

As the threesome continued their journey to the border, a flash of yellow swept past Yumi. She blinked in surprise.

"_What was that? That was... scary._" She thought as her heart felt a sense of quiver.

There. She saw it.

"Shiki!" She stared at the young warrior with great astonishment. He had his hands outstretched in a horizontal manner, as if he's trying to obstruct their way. Both Andrew and Zoe's eyes began to swirl in a mad rush of wild colours. Their expressions hardened as they saw what Shiki was doing.

"Don't take her away!" the young warrior yelled.

"Get outta our way, boy!" Andrew suddenly snapped impatiently. "We're in a rush!"

Yumi was taken aback by her ather's behaviour. Andrew was always nice to Shiki!

"No!" Shiki declared, eyes fuelled with full defiance and determination. "Never!"

Andrew tried to pull the boy away from the path with brute force, but Shiki firmly stood his ground. Zoe sighed and pulled out her longbow.

"We're really in a rush, Shiki. Don't regret this." Zoe said. Her voice was dangerously calm.

Without warning, she performed a Fragmented Arrow on Shiki. He cried out in pain as the magic arrow hit his chest. He staggered back, but still stood in their way.

Yumi gasped in horror. Now her mother too? What in the world is going on! Now she didn't have time to think about that. Shiki was dying, right in her parents' hands!

"Please, no!" Yumi cried out. She ran over to her best friend, whom she had so dearly treated as a priceless treasure.

He was one of the most important people that ever appeared in her life. Because of her illness, she was being ostracised. He was her only friend in the whole entire village. She couldn't bear to see what was happening to her only best friend.

She rushed forward and in front of Shiki. "Please," she spluttered, "no more!" Tears were dripping from her eyes. "Mother! Shiki's my only friend! What am I supposed to do if you kill him?"

Zoe blinked. She lowered her bow ever so slightly.

A feeling of gratitude stirred in Shiki's heart. He felt touched, the way Yumi protected him.

"_I only like him as a friend.._." she thought. "But he's still an important part in my life!"

"Shiki, please go," she hissed. "You're going to get killed here!" Shiki nodded and then slipped away from her parents' eyes. After he left, Yumi lowered her hands. The air was filled with an extremely awkward silence as the blue and green colours whirled back into the eyes of her parents, filling them with their senses once again. Zoe groaned as she received a splitting headache.

"Let's go." Yumi said quietly. "We're probably very late already."

Her parents nodded in agreement. "Indeed," Andrew growled, "because that boy stopped us."

Zoe realised what was happening and took a good look into his eyes. There was still a part where his irises were transparent. "Damn... He's still not completely out of the spell yet!"

"It wasn't his fault, Father..." Yumi murmured with a tinge of sadness in her heart. As they reached the boarder of the forest grounds, the spot where a dazzling blue light leading to Cristal Stream stood, she looked back at her hometown, knowing that she wouldn't be back for a couple of years or so. She'll just have to pray hard that she can make friends at her new school.

"Goodbye, Prairie Town..." A wave of sadness overwhelmed her.

"I'll be back..."

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><p><p>

The surroundings morphed into a series of brilliant colours, until at last it stopped and the flashing surroundings calmed down into a breathtaking scenery of a stream. A bridge was built in the middle. Standing on the nearer end of the bridge was Scout Fergus, the patroller of this area.

Walking for miles and miles, till they reached the portal to Mana Ridge. As they stepped into the blue light, the surroundings transformed once again, this time into a snow blizzard storm. They saw an isolated building in a thick snowy area.

"There it is," Andrew murmured. Curiously Yumi walked forward slowly, step by step, towards the school building. It looked like an abandoned monastery, only that it consisted of the main school building, with other smaller buildings beside it, however slightly taller than the main one.

"_Dorms...?_"

All of a sudden, Andrew grabbed Yumi by the arm and dragged her to the steps of the door to the main building. "Hurry up," he grunted. His grip tightened and Yumi let out a yelp.

"Father! It hurts!" she wailed. What's happening? Why is her father acting so brutal?

"Silence!" he thundered. He pushed the doors open and walked to the door with Yumi being dragged, and Zoe running after him. Students looked in their direction, laughing and pointing at them. All but a white-haired boy and a red-haired girl. His face was directed at Yumi and showed signs of pity.

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><p><p>

"Okay, I've officially registered your daughter as a student here," the office manager said to Yumi's parents. Zoe smiled with gratitude, while Andrew sat, a fierce look on his face.

"Thank you... We haven't had time to take care of her," the feminine voice of Zoe said, "so..." The manager quickly understood what was happening.

"I understand, no need to speak any further. Well, your daughter will begin lessons shortly, probably in an hour's time?"

"Yumi, you can wander around the school, okay?" Zoe asked Yumi. Andrew's head spun to look at Yumi with his half blue, half transparent eyes. He had a smile, but his eyes were filled with evil.

"Ah... S-sure..." she stuttered.

"Oh yes!" The office manager exclaimed all of a sudden. She rummaged in her pile of paperwork and pulled out a small slip of paper. "It has numbers on it," Yumi noted.

"Here." The manager passed the slip of paper to Yumi. "This number is your locker number plus lock password. We have already placed the study and resource guides into your locker."

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>As the trio left the office, Yumi noticed that the hallway was quite remote. Zoe left, dragging Andrew along with her to take care of the spell.<p><p>

"_Great. All alone. Again_." she thought.

She walked down the hallway and immediately realised something was wrong. The atmosphere didn't seem right. She swallowed a gulp of fear.

She was right. Not long after, a gang of sorceresses walked from behind a wall and towards her. They were much older and wore revealing clothes, making Yumi cringe just at the sight of it.

"The new girl, huh?" One of them sneered. She gave Yumi a rough push. The young archer squealed in pain as she landed face-first forcefully on the floor. As she looked up, she could see everybody laughing ingreat amusement. She felt something flowing out from her nose and placed a hand on the area just below it. _Blood._

"Argh..." she muttered as she tried to get up, but her efforts were interrupted by a sharp kick in her waist by a sorceress's heel.

All of them followed suit and started to kick her savagely. Yumi squirmed about like a wiggling fish on the floor in sheer pain. After about five minutes of overwhelming pain, there was the tapping sound of a foot.

One sorceress spun round and gasped in absolute horror.

"It's the 'broom witch' and the 'holy loner'! Run!" The group dispersed and left Yumi there alone, sobbing as she struggled to get up.

The 'holy loner', a white-haired cleric, ran over to the girl and knelt down. "Are you okay?" he asked, genuine concern and anxiety written on his face.

Yumi was about to answer when suddenly her vision blurred.

"I'm... fine..." her voice wavered as the relapse overcame her once again.

"Oh no! Rose!" he called out to the 'broom witch', a red-haired girl. Her hair was tied and placed over her right shoulder.

"What is it?" she responded.

"This girl has fainted!" Without hesitation he carried Yumi's limp body up effortlessly and sprinted to the infirmary.

"Hey, wait! Where are you going!" Rose exclaimed.

But the cleric didn't care. A life was at stake, and he will do anything to save that flame of life, to keep it burning. Especially for this girl.

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><p><p>

**Well hello again! XD I was bored doing my chemistry homework, so I just decided to work on this chapter XD Look, this young girl here is too bored and doesn't want to do her homework! Oh no! What are you going to do? WITH MEH? (BD) HOHO.**

**BANG BANG ~**

**Remember to R&R! :D 12-year-old, signing out.**

**EDIT: Edited chapter once again. I'm going to post a picture about Yumi's attire when she goes to the boarding school on my newly-created deviantART account: (.) Do comment when the picture is out ^^ I would like to hear on how my drawing skill can be improved.**

**Again, thanks to Aemire for the loopholes-pointing out. **

**Argh it's so laggy here doing this on my iPhone. LOL. Random.**

**Well, see you in the next chapter! ^^ **


	4. Feelings

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dragon Nest.**

* * *

><p><strong>Characters:<br>Yumi - Archer  
>Shiki - Warrior<br>Kyuubi - Cleric  
>Amaya - Sorceress<strong>

* * *

><p>Yumi was having the same nightmare again. The evil white ghost reaper was once again chasing her. She screamed, but no sound came out.<p>

"Mother!"

No sound.

"Father!"

Still no sound.

"Where are all of you!"

Her voice was a little audible this time.

"I need you!"

Strangely, this statement was screamed out and rang as clearly as a bell. She ran faster... Faster... The reaper was gaining on her and she had to run fast. "Damn it!" she thought. "I can't seem to run faster!" She panicked and kept running with all her might. Suddenly she tripped and fell into the invisible black ground. She turned her head and looked at the monster with agonising fear. Its red eyes boggling out had their pupils glaring straight at her evilly.

"Don't... Don't come near me!" the little girl screamed in terror. She shut her eyes tightly, expecting the worst. Tears dropped from her shut eyelids, like blood flowing out from the fearful one.

Strangely there was nothing, but instead a sudden flash of yellow light appeared, speeding past Yumi and caught the white reaper, binding it with translucent holy forces. The monster struggled to break free from the force binding it, forcing it to be immobile.

"Bye bye, monster!" A boy's voice called out. Sudden outbursts of holy light appeared, robbing the reaper of its remaining energy and allowing it to accept its tragic fate in the form of death.

"You're safe now, Yumi." the voice called out to her tiny figure.

"_Wait... How does he know my name?_" she wondered in great astonishment. "_Amazing.._."

"Come here. I will protect you," it continued. Entrusting this voice with the role of her protecter, Yumi slowly stood up and made her way to the source of the voice. As she did the surroundings blurred into a flash of white light just like the other dreams.

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><p>Yumi's eyes opened, bit by bit. "Ahh..." she groaned as she sat up. She found herself in a white room, which she assumed to be an infirmary. First-aid equipment were all around her. She felt a weird jolt from her back as she straightened her posture.<p>

"_Did I just... undergo an operation? My back feels so... 'screwed up'..._"

"Where am I, exactly...?" she asked herself out loud. A familiar voice answered her.

"You're in the school infirmary."

It was that boy's voice. Yes, it was. She spun her head round to search for the source of that voice. Her eyes laid on a white-haired cleric sitting right beside the recovery bed that she's sitting on right now. He had his long fringe cover one of his sapphire eyes which were concentrated on her, a tinge of anxiety clouding his face. Next to him was a bowl filled with an uncountable number of bloodstained cotton balls and a forceps. His hands were clothed with gloves, and they were stained with the crimson red liquid form too.

"_Not a teacher...?_" she thought, shocked.

Suddenly Yumi found her heart pounding against her chest at an extremely rapid speed. "_What's this? I can feel my face becoming... hotter..._" she thought, slightly bewildered.

"You... entered my dreams...?" she then asked out of pure curiosity, trying to distract herself from her current blushing state at the same time.

He nodded in response. "You were screaming fearfully out loud, something like calling for your parents. Hence I used a special type of skill to enter your dreams and find out the cause of the fear."

Yumi nodded, telling him that she'd understood. Curious about that weird feeling on her back, she reached out for the back of her dress and found it stitched up.

"_Eh? What happened to my dress?_" she wondered. She wanted to ask the boy, but was too shy to do so. Noticing the awkward silence, the boy then spoke, "What is your name?"

Yumi blinked in surprise at that unfamiliar question. It has been a very long time since she was asked that particular statement.

"I... I'm Yumi... Kimura Yumi." she said. Her parents gave her that name as she was born in a village of greenery (Kimura - tree village), and when she was born her parents told her that she was beautiful (Yumi - beauty), her blissful face and all. Hence the name Kimura Yumi.

"I see... Well, my name is Kyuubi Kiyomizu. Nice to meet you." The cleric stretched out his hand and Yumi grabbed it with little force as they shook hands, smiling at each other. Kyuubi smiled warmly at Yumi and her face revealed a shade of pink.

Just then, there was a sudden knock on the door. Kyuubi turned his head to look at what was behind him and saw the red-haired Rose standing by the door. She cleared her throat.

Kyuubi stood up and told Yumi, "Rose wants to talk to you. I'll see you around the corner." She nodded in acknowledgement. He flashed a smile before walking out of the room. On the way, when he walked past Rose, he whispered, "Take care of her for me."

Rose then strolled into the room, with a bright smile on her face. "Hello there," she said._ "Her voice sounds so... so... mature..._" Yumi thought.

"I'm Rose. Saito Rose." Rose introduced herself. "Yumi, right?"

"Yes..." Yumi replied softly.

"I kinda overheard your conversation with Kyuubi." She chuckled. "Are you nervous?"

Yumi simply nodded. "Especially after that sorceress escapade."

"That reminds me, are you okay now?" Rose's eyebrows tightened. "You suffered lots of injuries from that... Some of them even went in so deep."

Yumi was horror-stricken upon hearing that. Sure, those heels hurt a lot, but it didn't occur to her that the heel would actually _pierce_ through her own fragile frame. Now come to think of it, it seemed that Kyuubi was the one who "operated" on her. He seemed to be the only one who knew how to treat those wounds. He just happened to know... _everything_.

"Was Kyuubi the one who treated my wounds?" Yumi blurted out. All she could see was Rose, lowering her head, avoiding her gaze.

"He told me not to tell you... But then, since I think you already have your doubts about him... Yes, he did."

Yumi gulped. "Tell me what happened." she said in a trembling voice.

"Well... Majority of the wounds were found on your back, so he had to rip the back of your dress to treat those deep wounds. Shortly after, wait, lemme guess, you have an inborn disease?"

Yumi gasped in surprise. "How... How did you know?"

"Your heart rate was slowing down, and it wouldn't happen like this in other cases. Kyuubi assumed that you were down with an illness, and so he used various types of healing arts, including the secret ones, to save you."

"Oh..." was all that escaped the archer's mouth. But deep down inside, she felt a strong feeling of gratitude towards Kyuubi. Her heart thumped harder just at the thought of him. She was so moved at how that cleric saved her life with all his effort, that a single teardrop fell from her eyes and stained her slightly rosy cheek with a line that shone under the light like a line made of pearls. Rose noticed it and stretched out her arm to wrap it over Yumi's shoulders.

"Cheer up, Yumi! There's no need to cry!"

"I-I don't know what to say..." Yumi stammered. "I feel such a warm feeling... in my heart..."

Rose quickly caught on and patted her shoulder. "Kyuubi wouldn't do this to just another girl. I think he likes you..."

* * *

><p><em>"Quick, Rose! Pass me more!" the white-haired boy exclaimed as he treated the bloody wounds.<em>

_Rose hastily sped to the gigantic first-aid kit the school infirmary had, pulled the lid open and took out yet another enormous packet of cotton balls. When she came back to the cleric's side, she could see blood furiously gushing out of the deep and large wounds. Blood stained Kyuubi's white gloves and the recovery bed, like he had just murdered someone on the bed itself. Beside him was a metal bowl, already filled to the brim with heavily blood-stained cotton balls. It make her feel like sprinting to the toilet and puking into the big bowl with a deep depth in a cubicle upon looking at the gory sight before her._

_"What's... the progress...?" she questioned with a sickly tone in her voice._

_Kyuubi, however, did not respond. He was too focused on treating the wounds, deep and all._

_"Why would the sorceresses do something like that? They have gone too far!" he exclaimed out loud angrily, as if he's talking to himself._

_"What's the matter, Kyuubi?"_

_"The sorceresses pierced the sharp point of their heels into this girl!" he muttered, seething with pure anger burning from inside him._

_Rose gasped in horror. "So that's why this girl had lost so much blood!"_

_"I will save her." the cleric murmured under his breath, just audible enough for Rose to hear. His face remained firm, but his eyes were charged with confidence and determination._

_After quite a strenuous hour of treating the wounds, Kyuubi finally stitched up all the openings, then sighed in relief and fell back onto his chair. There was a hint of tiredness yet happiness in his eyes._

_"It's saved..." he whispered, panting from exhaustion. "The flame of her life was kept burning..."_

_"Kyuubi...? I know I shouldn't bother you, but can I ask you one thing...?" Rose said, almost timid-like. She wasn't really sure if he would answer, but she just gathered her strength and popped the question._

_"Hm?" Kyuubi replied. "Sure."_

_"Do... Do you like this girl...?"_

_Kyuubi seemed to be taken aback by this question. Utter silence filled the air._

_"Why... do you ask, Rose?"_

_"Uhh," Rose was speechless. She had never thought until this far. Then, "I'm just curious..."_

_"Well, I don't think it's something you should know." Kyuubi plainly stated._

_"Fine," Rose muttered. "I just wanted to know." She turned and walked briskly out of the room. As she turned her head back to look at Kyuubi, she was greeted by a white head facing her. She could see a slight tinge of red filling his cheeks with the speed of lightning. _

_She smirked. "I take that as a yes, then," she thought. With that, she sauntered out of the room._

_Soon after she left, there was a deafening scream that pierced thorough the still atmosphere. Rose recognised this as Yumi's voice, so she spun around and saw Yumi's small body trembling wildly. Kyuubi was muttering something like, "Holy bolt". His eyes were closed and a magical yellow aura surrounded the duo._

_"Wh-what the hell! The dream entering spell?" Rose spluttered. Something was definitely wrong. _

_Another scream. It was from Yumi. _

_Rose cupped her ears. That scream almost deafened her. Look, Yumi was probably screaming due to just a nightmare, and Kyuubi was actually exhausting his magic just to enter her dreams and find out the cause of it? She seriously couldn't believe her eyes._

* * *

><p>"O-okay..." Yumi stammered after Rose's response. She was blushing madly. Just then there was a loud knock from the door. Yumi turned and saw a tall woman standing by the swing-able barrier. She was dressed in a tight-waisted ivory dress, covering her pearl-coloured thighs. Long, wavy brown locks flowed down her slender back. Her face greeted the two girls with a warm welcoming smile on her whitish face.<p>

"Hello Rose and Yumi," she said kindly.

"Hello Miss Marilyn," Rose greeted back. She turned to Yumi, "Yumi, this teacher is our teacher-in-charge of our lessons and dorms. Feel free to approach her if you need anything."

"Hello Yumi. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And to you too," Yumi responded.

"Are you okay now? I apologise on behalf of my students. They're rough with new students, especially those from the west."

"But why?" Yumi questioned. "Do the two villages have a feud or something?"

"No... You know about the cursive spell casted on people?"

Yumi shook her head, confused.

"In the past, on a particular day, there would be an annual event called "the Cursed Day". Each year, sorceresses of the Lagendia army would be sent to every village. These skilled sorceresses would be ordered to cast spells on everyone who turned 10."

Yumi gasped in pure horror upon hearing those words. The government... They're just too cruel!

"Now they have changed the rules to become five years instead of one. But sadly two years ago was the fifth year, and almost all the sorceress students were greatly affected. Because of the spell they think that people from Prairie Town, Calderock Village and Saint Haven were demons and they would do whatever means to hurt people younger than them from these villages, with the excuse of "bullying"."

Her eyes widened to the size of saucers. That would mean... her parents were probably affected too, when they were much younger, that's why they were acting strange earlier on. She unconsciously flashed an upset look on her face. Even her elven ears drooped down in pure sadness.

The tall teacher noticed it, and quickly changed the subject.

"Ahh, anyway let's get on to the school. I'll bring you to your room in the dorms."

"Thank... thank you, Miss," Yumi quietly responded. She still wasn't able to get over the shocking news, but still tried her best to put on her best smile.

"Great!" Miss Marilyn clapped her hands in delight. "Now, are you okay managing on your own, or do you want me to help you with your walking?"

"Erm... I think I can manage just fine," Yumi replied. She tried to stand up, feet on the ground, but almost fell. Miss Marilyn caught her just in time.

"Look at that, still falling!" she exclaimed with worry. "Wait here," she commanded and went to a corner. She came back with a wheelchair folded in her hands. She opened it and the movable chair folded into view.

"Here," she pointed to the seat as she spoke. Yumi slowly and carefully made her way towards the seat, sometimes almost tripping. The tall teacher would be there to support her whenever she tripped. When she finally sat on the wheelchair, she heaved a sigh of relief.

"Erm... Miss Marilyn?"

"Yes, Yumi? Something wrong."

"Were you affected too...?"

Miss Marilyn chuckled and patted Yumi on her head. "No... I hid from the sorceresses."

Yumi was confused. "But how? Didn't they have some... person's aura sensor or something?"

"Yes, they do, but because Mana Ridge was a holy land, therefore all the sensors were blocked out. This the sorceresses much feared and they made sure they have searched every nook and cranny of the village. However I hid in the library which was supposedly "haunted", according to rumours. Hence no one goes there, not even the sorceresses. Strange, isn't it?"

"Very," Yumi answered. Thank goodness her teacher wasn't corrupted by the spell, or it will mean imminent doom for her.

* * *

><p>After a quick tour around the school, Miss Marilyn hurriedly pushed the wheelchair into the classroom as she was already late for the first period of the day. It consisted of only about 28 people and didn't take up much space in there.<p>

"I apologise for being late, class," the teacher said, face looking flushed. When Yumi came into view, everybody's gazes immediately landed on her. She gulped and began to tense up. Beads of perspiration dripped down her forehead. Kyuubi was also eying her, but out of anxiety. Many clerics and guys were practically being lovesick over her, but the sorceresses eyed her with anger and hatred, some even jealous.

"Alright, we have a new student," Miss Marilyn announced. "Yumi, please introduced yourself."

"Ahh... Well, my name is Kimura Yumi, and I'm from Prairie Town. Pleased to meet you." She smiled brightly. All the guys were actually squealing "Aww she's so cute!" while the sorceresses shot frowns at her. A tan hand, fingers decorated with glittering jewellery, suddenly shot up from the sorceress crowd.

"Miss, why must this _Prairie_ girl join our class and be a _black sheep_?" Upon hearing the _black sheep_ part, the entire sorceress colony howled with laughter.

"That's enough, Yukiko," Miss Marilyn said sharply. The laughter immediately quietened down. Miss Marilyn then assigned Yumi to sit next to Rose. Behind her was Kyuubi staring at Yumi and shifting awkwardly. He turned a colour of cherry red, unnoticeable to others.

"Now class, today we're going to learn about ranged distances..."

Miss Marilyn then taught the class about second weapons, how are they put in use, how long does it take before the user can move and attack again. For clerics, It depends on their main weapon. It's the same for archers and warriors.

When class ended, the whole colony of sorceresses stood up and left, whispers going around them, as if they're discussing about more "evil plots". The clerics surrounded Yumi and marvelled at her cuteness. She was stuck in the boy crowd for quite a while before Rose helped out by pushing through the hoard of clerics, grabbing Yumi's arm and dragged her out of there.

As the duo went to get their lunch, Yumi accidentally bumped into a tall sorceress with long hair whose tray of food dropped onto the ground with a loud clang, food and drink spraying everywhere.

The sorceress turned to glare at Yumi, obviously pissed off. Her purple locks were tied into two high pigtails. Her dark purple clothes and shoes matched her purple hair and her hands were adorned with purple rings.

"Hey, watch it, Prairie black sheep!" she yelled angrily. The sorceresses nearby snickered. Yumi recognised this voice as Yukiko's.

"I'm so sorry! It was an accident!" Yumi apologised profusely.

"No accidents happen to me like this for the past few years!" she screamed. "This is all your fault! You ruined my best robe!"

She whipped out her staff and chucked a gravity bomb at Yumi. Then she left, proud of the bloody work she just did.

Yumi was left lying on the floor, bleeding again. That powerful gravity ball opened up more wounds and scars. Blood was gushing out of the wounds and trickling down her limbs profusely. She felt dizzy and closed her eyes as darkness overwhelmed her. The last thing she heard was feminine voices laughing in the background and Rose screaming her name in horror.

* * *

><p>When consciousness embraced her again she found herself in a blue room. "<em>That's right..<em>." she thought as she sat up, groaning a little from stiff bones. "_This is the room that Miss Marilyn introduced to me as my room.._." But something seemed to be different. It was blue, just like her own room, but the things were... different. Instead of her sling bag on the shelf, she saw a backpack. Instead of a bow and quiver of arrows, she saw a wand plus a shield hanging on the wall.

"_Damn it._"

She was in a cleric's room. Crap.

The bathroom door opened and she saw who it was. She gasped. It was Kyuubi! He was in his plain white t-shirt and brown trousers. A towel was sling over his shoulders. His white hair was wet and messily ruffled up, not being the neat, smooth hair that you see everyday.

"Wh-what's going on?" she stuttered. Her cheeks inadvertently became flushed.

"Heh, sorry for the inconvenience currently being caused." He grinned apologetically. "Rose told me you passed out because you had another lapse. Furthermore Yukiko wounded you with her gravity bomb. Since we didn't know what is your room number, we just brought you here to my room for the time being."

"Now, just a minute, why your room? Why not Rose's?"

"Come on, she lives with the worst sorceresses you can ever think of, all the way at the fifth floor. My room is like, at the third one and don't worry, they're no sorceresses or lovesick clerics over here. Just the nice people over here."

Yumi blushed unknowingly. "I see... Thank you." She smiled.

Kyuubi chuckled and walked towards her. He sat by the bed and used his hand to tickle the area under Yumi's chin.

"Ah! Hey! That tickles, Kyuubi!" she protested, now blushing madly as she tried to push his hands away, but to no avail. After five minutes, Kyuubi stopped and gave her a tight hug.

"Woah, Kyuubi, this is totally random, what's gotten into you?"

"Haha, nothing, I just figured you need one." Though this was what he said, Yumi could see in his eyes the yearning for her, her illness, her sadness, her everything.

"_Let me be your protector.._."

* * *

><p>Night soon fell. The crescent moon was held up high in the dark blue sky, with twinkling stars scattered across it. Yumi was out of the dorms, sitting on the benches just outside the housing, revising her homework that was given out today.<p>

"How a crystal ball protects the user by swivelling around the mage... Argh, this is so mind-boggling," she cried out in exasperation.

"Need any help?" a voice called out. It was Kyuubi. He was in a sweater plus brown pants. His feet were wrapped in white boots that went up as far as the knee only. He had combed his hair so that he looked presentable.

She plainly shook her head, not really needing help at that moment. Suddenly her heart started pumping faster again. "_Why do I always bump into him or he always manages to find me almost every time? This is too embarrassing!_" Yumi's cheeks turned crimson red. She was more or less embarrassed at the idea of revealing her flustered face to the one person that she could potentially be in. She turned away awkwardly, facing the snowy scenery beyond the school as an excuse to hide her sweet blush. The moonlight making its way onto the school grounds was bright and caused her to squint slightly. The beautiful scenery brightened her face up and helped her lose the tinge of pink scattered along her face, returning it to its normal colour. All she could do now is that she turned at the right time and Kyuubi hadn't seen the one look that could have her true feelings for him revealed at any moment.

However, the white-haired cleric had already spotted it and chuckled to himself, seeing right through Yumi's futile plan. "She's just adorable..." he thought to himself with a smirk. His feet shuffled against the snow, causing Yumi to turn back at him and realise that he was leaving for his room now. Part of her longed for him to stay by her side longer, but... That was when a thought struck her head.

"I'll go with you!" she shouted at Kyuubi who stopped his movements. He looked slightly confused about that sudden speech directed at him. "To my room...?" he said, currently disordered.

When Yumi exited Kyuubi's room, she saw his room number and realised that her room was just next to his.

"Erm... My room is just right next to yours..." she admitted. "So..."

That made Kyuubi smile. "So we can see each other everyday and hang out together!" He said, finishing the sentence.

Yumi began to tense up more at the presence of this person. Her heart was beating wildly now, causing her cheeks to glow a faint tinge of pink. Kyuubi noticed it immediately and softly laughed to himself at her cuteness.

As she stood up, she felt a great push from behind. Her body collided with Kyuubi's as they tumbled onto the snow-capped ground together. She shut her eyes, fearing for the worst.

"Watch it, Prairie brat!" another feminine voice hollered.

When Yumi opened her eyes again, they widened to the size of saucers as she gasped in utter shock upon realising what was happening. She was lying on Kyuubi, head on his chest. They were so close, she could smell a faint whiff of blueberries emitting from his body. By then she was furiously turning red. Kyuubi must've felt the same too, because when Yumi looked at him from the corner of her small eyes, his face was extremely flushed.

"Ooh, look who's got a boyfriend~" someone sneered.

"They were born with something bad inborn, they are absolutely fit for each other~"

"S-stop it!" Yumi stuttered in pure embarrassment at the sorceresses, who were now occupying the bench she was sitting on earlier. She could feel heat filling her face more.

"Oh, look who's blushing!"

The colony burst into fits of evil laughter. Realising that she was still on top of him, Yumi turned sideways and landed on her back on the soft white ground.

Kyuubi's normal face colour returned and he sat up, and squalled at them. "Chie, shut up NOW!"

The sorceress who called Yumi a brat spun round and faced him. She had pink hair tied up into a high ponytail and her bangs covered her forehead. Her eyes seemed to be squinting and she had flaring nostrils. She was wearing clothes that had a slight undertone of red. Her fingers, unlike Yukiko's, were beautified with pink and red coloured rings.

She gritted her teeth and shook her fist at him. "Kiyomizu, you're gonna get it from me someday! You're lucky today. Come on, sisters, let's go! Ignore those idiots!" The colony dissipated, and within moments, the cleric and archer were alone again.

"Kyuubi..." Yumi breathed heavily while on the ground.

"Yes?" Kyuubi laid himself down too.

"I'm sorry... About just now..." Her eyes contained much sadness. It hurt him seeing her like this.

"No, it's okay," he said as he pulled her to his chest with force, majority applied onto her waist, then clasping her tightly to his somehow broad structure

"Wh-what? Kyuubi?" she stuttered, abashed. She looked up and his sapphire eyes locked with her emerald ones. He then subconsciously leant in and pressed his lips against hers.

Her eyes widened so big that you might think it may drop off anytime. Her cheeks turned a rosy red.

Kyuubi had his eyes closed, savouring the taste of her soft lips. When he broke the moment, Yumi was still in a daze.

"Come on, let's go." He then stood up and stretched out his hand. Yumi tried to get up and then grabbed his hand tightly and then stood up. Once she did, she put her fingers on her mouth, still dazed about what happened earlier on.

"_Did he just... kiss me?_"

* * *

><p><strong>WOOT 4K WORDS BD<strong>

**I don't even know what crap I was writing for this chapter LOL. **

**Ooh, Yumi thinks and blushes a lot in this chappy, eh?**

**Kyuubi takes her first kiss! OMFG O:**

**Please R&R. Oh, and don't forget to check my deviantART website (I can't seem to type it out here on iPhone, so... Anyway my username is kimurayumi) :DD**

**Thank you! XD 12-year-old, signing out. **


	5. Regrets

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dragon Nest.**

* * *

><p><strong>Characters:<br>Yumi - Archer  
>Shiki - Warrior<br>Kyuubi - Cleric  
>Amaya - Sorceress<strong>

* * *

><p>Yumi was slightly embarrassed by Kyuubi's earlier action. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked uncomfortable as she put the tips of her fingers against her lips. Kyuubi noticed it and felt a sharp stab of guilt in his heart.<p>

"I'm sorry," he apologised, his tone filled with regret. However Yumi didn't take it to heart and smiled with joyfulness. A gentle breeze blew through the air, making their hair fly in the wind. The owls and crickets made their daily night noises, usually noisy, however this time round it seemed more quiet. Peaceful and somewhat melodious, to be exact. Yumi closed her eyes, enjoying the music floating in the air. Without thinking, she opened her mouth and a tranquil-sounding air escaped from it. It was a soft, serene and yet gentle voice, as if it was a tinkling sound giving supplicants to the heavens. Sometimes there seemed to be a mature voice singing along in tune with her.

Kyuubi quietly stood there and listened to her musical tune. When her voice died down, she opened her eyes and he noticed they were filled with tears. Also as if on cue, the night animals went back to their noisy night sound-making. She stared at the sky and sighed.

"What's wrong?" Kyuubi inquired.

"Nothing," Yumi replied, as she smiled at the night sky, decorated with little dots of snow. "That tune... Mother always sings that to me every night whenever I couldn't fall asleep. That serene voice was so calm, so soothing..." She let out a small yawn. "Wow, guess I just made myself sleepy, huh?"

Kyuubi's lips curved slightly upwards and held her hand. "Yeah, me too. Let's go back to the dorms." Yumi nodded in acknowledgement, still yawning. They made their way to the tall buildings sluggishly, up the stairs and to the rooms, where they parted and said goodnight.

* * *

><p>Kyuubi tossed and turned about in his bed. His bed and body was heavily drenched in sweat and he kept exhaling deeply. His eyes were shut tightly like he had seen something horrible. Suddenly his eyes snapped open with great force, revealing his aghast blueish orbs, and screaming out a certain person's name. He flipped the switch of a nearby lamp and the room was illuminated with a bright light, enabling one to see the contents in his blue room. He looked at the wall clock. It was one in the morning. Sitting up, he hastily let out short breaths as he recalled what happened in his dreams.<p>

_He found himself in the beautiful scenery of Cristal Stream, holding hands with Yumi's small pale one. They were grown-ups then. His fringe hopelessly extended until it reached the chin, but nonetheless his hairstyle remained the same. Yumi had long snow-white coloured locks, flowing along with the breeze currently present at the scene. She had grown to be about the same height as Kyuubi, which kind of surprised him, because he had thought that boys were supposedly taller than girls all the time. Yumi was wearing a simple dress and was smiling sweetly at him. It was their day off, and they had agreed to go out for a walk together on that day. As they were strolling by the stream, suddenly a blue-green monster popped out of the entrance to the raiders' dens! It was dressed on the same clothing as a goblin, however its size was much bigger. Studded on its head was a large magenta spinal, glowing with passion for blood. _

_A hobgoblin._

_Kyuubi told Yumi to stay put. He then drew his wand out of his belt and charged at the monster, attempting to finish it off in one blow. Unknown to him another hobgoblin had appeared and it immediately surged forward towards the unarmed archer. When he had put the hobgoblin's life to an end, he turned around to face Yumi with a smile of reassurance on his face, just in time to see the blunt knife of the other hobgoblin pierce through Yumi's body brutally._

_His smile lingered around his lips, however it now contained only emptiness, despair and sorrow. His eyes were filled with utter shock as he saw the killing of his loved one in front of his very own eyes. Her body had slumped onto the ground, the energy already drained from her. Raging with fury, he leapt into the air and slammed the head of his wand into the slightly cracked crimson-coloured jewel of the hobgoblin, ending its life. Kyuubi desperately dashed to his dying love, tears welling up in his sorrowful sapphire orbs._

_A tear escaped from her green-irised eye as she attempted to reach out to Kyuubi's hand. When they were in contact, she closed her eyes, her frame becoming limp._

_Kyuubi howled out in sheer agony as he faced the sky. Droplets of tears trickled down his cheeks. _

_"Yumi!"_

He woke up, yelling her name. As he recalled what happened in that dream, there was a muffled scream, crying out something that sounded a lot like his own name. It sounded pretty familiar...

Without warning, there was a knock on his room door. Thinking that it was Miss Marilyn, he nervously said, "C-come in..." The door swung open and instead of a tall slim figure, the minuscule one of Yumi was standing there. Her small hands were clinging onto the bosom of her white nightdress, body shaking with fear.

"Erm... Kyuubi, sorry to disturb you at such a late hour..." Even her voice was quivering with fear. She was cut off by Kyuubi raising his hand at her.

"It's okay," he said. His eyes were filled with fatigue.

"You look tired..." Yumi stated, her face written with genuine concern. "M-maybe... I should go..." She turned her body around, with the intention to return to her own room, when Kyuubi got off his bed and swiftly made his way to her small-sized body. He embraced her extremely thin frame tightly and a small gasp escaped Yumi's mouth upon the sudden contact. "She's so cold... and her body... it's trembling..." he noticed.

"_Did she had a nightmare again?_" His worries for her seemed to energise his body.

"Stay with me," he requested. She nodded, now fully awake. As he led her into his room and sat on his bed, he asked, "What do you want to see me for?"

"Well..." her voice trailed off. "I had a nightmare..." she quietly said.

_"Just as I thought.._." he thought, a look of worry clouding his eyes. "Tell me about it," he urged.

"Well," she started. "We were strolling with each other at Cristal Stream, when we were grown-ups..."

Kyuubi was taken aback. Yumi had the same dream...?

"Then suddenly a hobgoblin rushed out of the entrance to the raiders' den. You told me to stay where I was and you went to slay the monster. However there was another one and it charged towards me."

She began to tear up. "I was terrified... I didn't know what to do as I was unarmed. All I could make do with was my legs... I jumped and smashed my heels into its jewel, but I only managed to make a small crack on it."

"Without warning the hobgoblin had stabbed me with its weapon, and I was dying, my heart filled with dismay. You... came over to me, but couldn't do anything about it. I was bleeding profusely and slowly slipping away... I reached out for your hand, for the last contact we were ever going to share before I die..."

"I didn't want to lose you!" she spluttered, then covered her mouth in shock upon hearing what she had just said. Tears were flowing freely from her upset eyes, catching Kyuubi's attention.

"After I died," she continued. "I found myself in a black place. I was alone. Then I saw your silhouette. I got so excited that I ran over to you. But..." She paused, like she doesn't want to tell him what was next.

"But what?" he pressed on. "Just let it all out."

She hesitated for a moment, then finally spoke, "You... that "you" then wasn't the real you... He had a dark sinister aura around it and it was so evil that even a short-sighted person could see the aura. I was appalled upon seeing that. His whole self was all dark, the eyes glowering a deep red." Her ears lowered down with much dismay. "Then... then he started attacking me with much force..."

The thought of hurting her was too much for him. He felt a wave of depression wash over him.

"I started screaming out your name, trying to make him stop," she sobbed. "That's when I woke up."

Kyuubi unconsciously let his tears flow down his face. They sparkled with pity and sorrow under the light. Yumi took one look at him and her face was plastered with a look of worry.

"Kyuubi, are you okay...?" she said in a quiet wobbly voice.

"I'm... fine," he lied. He didn't want the archer to worry about him. He pulled her head close to his pectus, unknowingly letting his tears drop on her hair. Yumi glanced at the clock from the corners of her eyes. It was already two. She broke off from Kyuubi and got up, thinking of going back to her room.

"I-I'm sorry for t-taking up so much... of your t-time," she stammered apologetically. "I'll... take my leave..." She turned her back towards Kyuubi when she felt the hem of her dress being pulled back. She peeked behind her and saw Kyuubi's tan hand clutching onto it. His eyes were motioning for her to stay. She docilely nodded and went to him in slow, small steps. He abruptly cupped her face and pulled it towards him to make contact with their lips. Yumi's face became extremely flushed as she tried to protest. As time passed by she gradually calmed down and even closed her eyes in content as she began to absorb into the kiss. When they let go he looked straight into her emerald eyes, craving for her.

"You can't sleep, right? After that nightmare..." he enquired. Yumi nodded, still filled with a mass of red.

"Then spend the night with me," he suggested. Yumi was pretty dumbfounded.

"But... but..." Her tongue kept tripping up as she tried to get the words out of her mouth. Her pale cheeks turned a pretty scarlet. "But, doesn't it seem wrong...?"

"It's fine," he assured her. He pulled her to his chest, nuzzling her head affectionately. He switched off the lamp, putting the room in total darkness once again. Together they laid down together on the comfy bed and drifted off into a deep slumber.

* * *

><p>Kyuubi awoke to the cold, damp morning air, its mist wafting into the room and clinging onto his exposed skin. The snow birds chittered happily in a sing-song tune, excited to see the bright morning sun once again. He looked down to see the white-haired archer sleeping peacefully, head against his ample chest. He smiled, then leant down to give her a quick peck on the forehead.<p>

She stirred. Did he wake her up?

Her head moved and in a flash, his azure orbs were met with jade ones. Amongst the green was signs of fatigue.

"Good morning, Kyuubi," Yumi said sleepily. Her droopy eyes were struggling to be kept wide open. Kyuubi chuckled softly as her small head nodded from time to time as a sign of losing concentration. He lightly stroked her somewhat bleached hair and flashed a smile at her. Suddenly, a thought abruptly struck his head like a rock. The smile vanished as he shook his head, realising that a big school event was going to happen later. His eyes travelled down to Yumi's body, fearing for her safety.

_What would happen to it after today's event? The sorceresses would kill her, now they had a chance to do so..._

Kyuubi gently nudged Yumi, catching her attention. "It's almost time. Let's go to class together," he offered. She nodded readily, got up and waved at him as she made her way towards the door. "I'll see you outside later!" As she left the room, the cleric was left in a trance.

_What... will happen to her flame? Will it die out... for real this time round...?_

* * *

><p>Kyuubi came out of his room in a blue coat. Underneath was his blue-coloured armour, boots and all. His suit was tightened around the waist with a black leather belt. He had a blue galero which he had put on smartly on his head. As he made his way towards Yumi's door, he saw the sorceresses sauntering down the stairs. They were all dressed in various colours of armours. Yukiko had her tied-up purple locks flowing behind her as she bounded down the stairs. She was dressed in a purple robe decorated with rings of blue. Her hair ornament, muffs, leg warmers and heels were a matching design. On her ears hung hoops of bright purple and her neck plus hands were adorned with jewellery of the same bright colour. The tip of her beautiful, intricate dark purple staff glowered a bright blue. It was positioned on her back, along with a purple voodoo doll.<p>

Chie had a brown robe that had a tinge of red wrapped around her slim yet curved physique. Her earlobes were studded with pink stars. On her neck cohered a long red-pink necklace, dangling from side to side whenever she moved. Her fingers were decorated with rings of a hot pink colour. The staff stuck on her back was a long stick of a dingy blue with a bright glowing pink circle on top. She smirked at the sight of Kyuubi standing outside Yumi's door.

She sneered, "What are you doing, cleric? Waiting for your girlfriend?" Her voice was dangerously vicious and mocking. The other sorceresses snickered in amusement. Just then, the door opened and the head of the white-haired archer popped out from the entrance to the room. When she saw the sorceresses her face turned ghastly white.

Yukiko just threw her head back and laughed snarkily. Then she went back to ambling down the stairs with her best friend Chie, together with the other sorceresses trailing down behind her. Though it was just a laugh, her face told it all.

_I will win you, just you wait, black sheep._

Kyuubi turned his attention to Yumi, whose face was still white from fear. "I was going to tell you... We're going to have to fight against our classmates today. There is a high chance of fighting against the sorceresses... I apologise for not telling you earlier."

"Just as I thought..." Yumi mused to herself. "I sensed something wrong was going to happen today... so I'm prepared." She swung the door open, just wide enough for Kyuubi to see her body. She was wearing a white jacket beautified with blue decorations. Underneath it was a blue and white one piece. The upper part of her thighs were wrapped with white leggings. Two white quivers with a blue interior, filled with arrows, were strapped to her thighs, just below the leggings. Her mittens and boots were a bright white, with a tinge of blue in them. A blue headband was stuck in her snow-white hair. A blue bag had its strap slung over her shoulder, contents being her longbow and everyday study materials.

She stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her and smiled. "Let's go to the classroom."

* * *

><p>As Miss Marilyn stepped into the spacious classroom, everybody perked up. They were looking forward to today's event. Miss Marilyn was dressed in a outfit that made her look like a high school freshman. A red whistle hung from her long neck. Her right hand held two flags, one red and one green.<p>

"Class," she started as she settled down at the teacher's desk. "Today is a very important event. It's the biannual fighting event. Basically, two teams consisting of two people will fight against each other within a time limit of 15 minutes. Then if it's a draw, the team will continue fighting for another 15-minute interval. After a round has ended, the next two will go forth to start another round," she explained.

She began pulling out a box filled with small slips of paper, each one containing a pupil's name.

Yumi did her math. Seven rounds in total...

"...and now, the competitors of the last round." Miss Marilyn's voice rang out in her head as clearly as a bell. Yumi blinked. Did time really passed by that fast?

The tall figure pulled out the remaining slips of paper from the box. "The remaining ones are Yumi, Yukiko, Chie and Kyuubi. Groupings will be Yumi and Kyuubi against Yukiko and Chie."

The archer's eyes widened. She was going to fight against the sorceresses? Damn it, she was going to die. Yukiko and Chie glanced at the archer, eyes filled with pure viciousness.

"The venue will be the nearby snowfield. Please assemble outside in five minutes' time."

* * *

><p>The class travelled as one to the "arena". The snowfield was basically an enormous pile of snow, a statue built on its peak. Staircases led the foot of the pile to the top. There were also cliffs that hung like dangerous icicles that were going to drop any time. Broken walls surrounding the statue were scattered all around the peak.<p>

The class sat down at a corner while the first four stepped forward. Yumi gasped. One of them was Rose! As the first round started, Yumi started rooting for Rose for the whole fifteen minutes. At the end Rose's team scored a victory against the other team. Yumi cheered with delight. As the next few rounds took place, Yumi lost herself in her thoughts.

I'm going to fight against the two most witty and powerful sorceresses... What should I do? I must think of some tactics...

She felt a sudden nudge against her arm, making her jump in surprise. Kyuubi was motioning for her to go forward.

_The time has come..._

* * *

><p>When the round began, Yumi and Kyuubi were immediately surrounded by gravity orbs and a sea of fire. There was absolutely no way out, with the two mages furiously spamming their skills to prevent any movement from the archer and cleric. Yumi pondered for a moment.<p>

"Kyuubi," she whispered.

"Yes?"

"If the sorceresses gets attacked... will their skills be interrupted?"

"There is a possibility," Kyuubi responded, focused on the sorceresses' every movement.

Yumi hesitantly thought for a moment, then grabbed a bunch of her arrows with her right hand. As she focused on something, her hand and arrows began to glow a bright purple-pink.

_Forgive me, Mother, for doing such a rash act_.

She swiftly pulled out the glowing arrows and shot all of them towards the air. Upon the sight of this the two sorceresses laughed, but widened their eyes in horror as they saw what was about to happen.

Kyuubi gasped as the arrows Yumi had launched into the air flew downwards and attacked the sorceresses. He could hear a distinct cry from Yumi.

"Tracking Arrow!"

Arrows flew towards the sorceresses, interruting their spells and causing the gravity orbs and fire to disappear into thin air. He had never seen such power. Yumi was weak when she was bullied, but she was very strong in terms of weapons.

"Kyuubi! Please stay back!" she yelled as she twirled into the air and then shooting an arrow in the small space between the two wounded mages, attacking them both at the same time. Kyuubi nodded and tumbled over to the side.

"Argh!" the two yelled out in sheer pain. But it wasn't enough for Yumi. After that airborne shot, she flipped backwards, still in the air, and fired a numerous amount of arrows, piercing through the sorceresses and injuring the two severely. Kyuubi summoned a lightning relic from afar, paralysing the sorceresses for a brief moment. By the time Yumi landed on the ground, she was exhausted. Kyuubi sped to the centre of the room and yelled "Holy Burst!" as he summoned bolts of holy light, robbing much of the remaining energy from the sorceresses, bringing them to the brink of death. The two slumped onto the floor, overcome with much defeat. Suddenly his eyes widened as he saw the one thing that would lead him to his fear.

"Yumi! Watch out!" he yelled, but it was too late.

She was hit by a Glacial Spike on the back. And Kyuubi knew how sensitive her skin is when it comes to ice.

The archer tried not to show the excruciating pain on her face. Just then, the whistle sounded.

"The final round goes to Yumi and Kyuubi!" Miss Marilyn announced with a ear-splitting voice. The clerics and Rose whooped in delight. Yumi and Kyuubi had won!

A 30-minute break took place. Yumi went to a corner just below the snow peak so that neither Kyuubi nor anyone else can see her. There she silently winced in pure anguish as her skin tore open underneath her armour and some ice shards became lodged there. Tears of pain trickled down her face. She suddenly began coughing. As she covered her mouth, she took one look on it and closed her eyes tightly, filled with distress. All she wanted to be at that moment was to be gone; it was just too much for her. Her tears of affliction dripped from her chin and made a tiny splash on the rubies that tainted her hand, as if two different chemicals were being mixed together. She then clutched her right hand in sheer agony, as the vessels burst inside, internally leaking out more of the scarlet liquid.

_I'm sorry... for not telling you..._

* * *

><p>Kyuubi looked around, in search of the archer's figure, but couldn't find her anywhere. His mind began to become clouded with uneasiness. Just then he saw an arrow, still glowing a faint purple, stuck on the ground. He picked it up and brought it over to his mouth.<p>

"Bring me to Yumi," he commanded in a whisper. As he threw the arrow into the air, it flew towards a wall and plunged its arrowhead into the solid bricks, its magic drained from it. Its body faded to just a normal metallic colour, nothing more. The priest said nothing more, but went behind the wall as saw the steep part of the snow pile that led to the foot of it. He saw the young sharpshooter standing over there, back facing him.

Wait, was it his imagination? Did he just saw... _a spot of blood on her back...?_

She started coughing again, covering her mouth. When he saw the crimson red tarnishing her pale hand, he was greatly taken aback. She turned his head around and her eyes were filled with astonishment.

But the sight of her face had greatly thrown him off his senses.

Tears decorated the cheeks of her pale face. Her eyes, the source of those tears, were filled with extreme dejection. However the worst part was her mouth. Fresh vital fluids slowly streamed out of the edges of her mouth, like a river in slow-motion. He could see that the whole of her right arn was bleached white and the hand a rosy red. As he broke into a sprint towards her, her lips stretched into a thin smile.

"Kyuubi..." Those lips mouthed the words, only letting out a whisper before her elven vitality was expended, causing her eyes to close in an abrupt flutter, making her skinny frame collapse onto the ground, barely alive.

Kyuubi's sky blue orbs leaked out tears as he ran over to the now almost still body. Her eyes... they were open, but not even an inch.

She reached out for his face and caressed it, tears running down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, _watashi no koi..._"

Her body relaxed as her eyes closed shut, body not moving. Her hand just dropped lifelsadly onto the snow-capped ground.

_His worst fear had come true. _

He could only stare at his love, that limp, slightly blueish frame right in front of him, on the snow. Drops of regret travelled down his cheekbone. He slapped himself. Why didn't he interrupt that skill, right before it hit her?

He was a fool.

To think that he couldn't do something so simple as that.

That walkover matter had taken her life.

Why didn't he stop it?

He was such an imbecile.

He broke into hysterical sobs. "I-I'm sorry, Yumi! If I had acted earlier..." His voice wavered as he thought of something.

He realised, that there was still hope.

Believe in it.

Be true to it.

He could hear the voice of Father Supreme in his head.

_Have faith in yourself.._.

He picked the spiritless body up and rushed towards the direction of the school, speeding past Miss Marilyn in a blur of blue and white.

"I will save you," he told Yumi firmly, although he knew she wouldn't respond. "Until then..."

"_Douka, watashi wo hitori ni shinai de kudasai...!_"

* * *

><p><strong>Feeling pretty exhausted and sad D: I actually cried myself when I wrote the part where Yumi... "died". Actually she didn't die, she was just at the brink of death only.<strong>

**By the way... In case anyone of you ask...**

_**Watashi no koi = **_**My love**

**_Douka, watashi wo hitori ni shinai de kudasai_ = please don't leave me (something like that)**

**AND I DONT KNOW IF THERE ARE SUCH THINGS AS SNOW BIRDS. **

**Wellllllll, I guess that's it, then! Please R&R, thank you! 12-year-old, signing out. **


	6. A new love, a lost hope

**Finally! Sorry for the time wasted, unfortunately I don't know how to make up for the time lost :/ In this chapter Shiki and Amaya make their debut, though it's pretty short, because the current situation is now more focused on Yumi and Kyuubi. Next up will be more or totally about Shiki and Amaya ^^**

**EDIT: woah, I should've proofread this more. First I uploaded the one with a speech error. Then I forgot to add details of Amaya's face under da cheerful sun woot. Anyway... This should be correct. **

* * *

><p><strong>DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dragon Nest.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Characters:<br>Yumi - Archer  
>Shiki - Warrior<br>Kyuubi - Cleric  
>Amaya - Sorceress<strong>

* * *

><p>Rose looked around with worry. Kyuubi and Yumi have been nowhere in sight for one hour already (because Miss Marilyn lost track of time and accidentally gave them one extra half an hour). She then noticed a familiar-looking galero that stood on the snowy ground, its figure still intact. She went to pick it up for self-examination. She turned the headgear around, and noticed some faint scribbling on the inside. Looking closely, she noticed it was the word "Kyuubi".<p>

"Why would Kyuubi leave his galero here? Something's not right..." As she laid her eyes on the ground she noticed footprints, each one's diameter and length fitting the description of a boy's shoe. Noticing a little blood trail that dotted along the snow with the footprints, she cautiously followed the trail of the footprints, in the end arriving at the school.

"The school? Don't tell me…!

She rushed into the building without hesitation and spotted a thin trail of snow, already in the midst of melting. The trail led to the sick bay, door closed, but Rose could distinctly hear grunts, panting and heavy breathing. She opened the door and found the white-haired Kyuubi trying to... _extract_something from a familiar individual.

"Kyuubi! What's happening?" Rose exclaimed in alarm. As she came over, she saw the face of the body Kyuubi was working on and gasped in apprehension.

Yumi's frame seemed to have shrunk to a certain extent. Her face has gone into a pallid colour, lips turning whiter every second. The cleric had cut the back of her right hand open and had started cleaning up the blood with cotton balls.

"Yumi!" Rose screamed in trepidation. "Please hang on!"

Kyuubi was sweating buckets as he pulled out yet another cotton ball with the forceps, already soaked with the crimson liquid. "Her heartbeat is failing!" he exclaimed!

Rose saw what the problem was: an artery had snapped broken in Yumi's hand, losing blood internally and now because Kyuubi didn't know about the broken vessel, he was working feverishly without knowledge of the source of the blood loss problem.

"Kyuubi! There's a broken blood vessel!" Rose pointed out. Kyuubi gave her a weak smile of gratitude, and then turned back to continue cleansing the blood. Once he could see the broken edges of the blood vessels, he swiftly pulled one end of a broken vessel to the other one, preventing more blood from coming out. He then put the forceps onto one side, grabbed the sutures and stitched the vessel up. Then he stitched up the "initial incision" on the back of her pearly hand, clutched a roll of bandage close-by and bandaged the little girl's hand. Rose heaved a sigh of relief, but Kyuubi was frowning.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked.

"Her heart rate... It's not returning back to normal... instead it's actually slowing down." Kyuubi replied, puzzled. Just then, an image of the Glacial Spike attack flashed in his head. "Of course! The ice! I remember seeing a spot of blood on her back!"

He then flipped the skinny frame over easily, grabbed hold of the topmost fabric, and tore the texture apart. What greeted him came as a shock.

Wounds decorated her back, with blood oozing out of them profusely, making it akin to a flowing scarlet river. Ice shards were embedded into almost every one of the wounds. There was an enormous one right in the middle, making it look like the king while the smaller ones were normal countrymen. Kyuubi picked up the forceps, and started extracting the smaller pieces, always remembering to stitch up the wound after extraction. When he came to the big one he hopeless tugged at it with the forceps, with the hopes that the enormous piece of ice would come out. Unfortunately the thing snapped into half, leaving Kyuubi sitting there dejectedly. He grasped the icy shard with both of his gloves hands and began to pull.

"_This is going to hurt... Hang in there, Yumi!_"

With one great heave he finally pulled out the giant shard out from her back. Vital liquids gushed out of the wound furiously. In one speedy move he sutured up the wound. Using the same roll of bandage he wrapped the whole of her torso, covering the lacerations.

He could feel her warm aura pulsating from her once again. The colour on her face returned to its normal tone.

His lips curved up into a fatigued smile of satisfaction. The operation was finally over.

But one last problem remained.

She was in a coma.

* * *

><p>The cleric sat in the room which was painted white, clasping the archer's bleached-coloured hand to his forehead. Droplets of tribulation escaped his eyes, staining his own slightly tanned face. The only thing that comforted him with much assurance was the continuous up-down movement of her chest. As he stared at the blissful yet pained expression on her face, he could only think about how he could've prevented that... damned ice element from hurting her. All he could do now is to sit and wait for her awakening. Sitting back, he kept recalling those words, that... expression she used to call him a few hours ago, though it seemed to be just a while ago.<p>

"_... watashi no koi..._"

That soft, gentle voice, filled with serenity... It stuck in his head, continually repeating those words over and over again. His heart began beating faster as a wave of nervousness washed over his sorrowful self.

"Please wake up soon... You have to!" he thought, as if he's trying to communicate with her through telepathy. The small figure lay still on the recovery bed she once laid on the previous day, the same type of blood tainting the bed in a different pattern, the same position she was lying in. It reminded him of how he kept her life flame burning, enabling her to continue living. The events that happened next followed after. He unconsciously smiled at the remembrance of their first kiss on the snow.

He inclined his body forward so that his face was just next to her long, slender and elven ear and whispered in a soft masculine voice.

"_Watashi mo anata wo daisuki desu_."

He stood up and left for the canteen, intending to buy something for the unconscious archer to drink. As he went, he could feel a soft yank from his sleeve. His head oscillated to look at the sleeve to find a sickly-looking hand grappled onto it. Eyes travelling along the pale arm attached to the hand, he found the archer was slowly rousing. Her eyes fluttered open, revealing orbs of affliction with the colour of the lush green Prairie forest. When her eyes laid on the white-haired cleric standing in front of her, the pain in her eyes melted and warmth soon filled up the space.

"Kyuubi," she called out softly. He turned around and grabbed her beanpole-like frame, lifting her up from the bed and taking her into his arms.

"I didn't realise... how much I wanted you..." he choked. A flood of tears, containing solace, gushed down his ashen pale cheeks, staining the piece of cloth covering her shoulder. Yumi flung her hands over his neck, returning the embrace. She closed her wet eyes in complacency as her pale lips stretched into a thin smile. They stayed in this pose for a very long time, and they still haven't let go when Miss Marilyn, the sorceresses and the clerics arrived back at the school. The sorceresses went "_ohoho~_" while the clerics stamped their feet in anger and jealousy, invidious at Kyuubi.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, at the forest-life-filled Prairie Town...<p>

Shiki slowly made his way to the town notice board, his right leg limping. As he took a step forward with that right leg, pain shot up his thighs, and he could only be reminded of how he injured that leg.

_Without warning, she performed a Fragmented Arrow on Shiki. He cried out in pain as the magic arrow hit his chest. He staggered back, but still stood in their way._

Yumi gasped in horror. He was gasping in agony. When she told him to run away from her parents, he obeyed her instructions and fled the scene, running as far as his legs would take him, with the agonizing pain burning in his chest.

_That attack must've broken a few rib bones._

_Not looking what was in his path, he tripped on a fallen log. His screams echoed out loud in the forest that surrounded him as his right leg bones twisted and cracked. He crawled all the way home, luckily no one saw him._

Still glancing at the now bandaged leg, the blonde warrior sighed as he reminisced about that moment, that concerned voice of his beloved friend. "I wonder how Yumi's doing now... I hope she still remembers me," he said to himself as he continued trudging towards the board.

When he finally reached the notice board he took a good look at one particular piece of yellowish parchment paper, with its title "School of the Arts: Selected students" written in big, bold letters. He had always dreamed of going to this "School of the Arts" as he had heard that the skills one learns there are very advanced, ad he had always wanted to hone his skills, so he had gone for the trials a month ago. Skimming through the paper, he couldn't believe his eyes.

_Shiki Chikara, Warrior_. His name was on the list.

Happiness grew inside him. He had been selected into the skill school, famous in all regions of Lagendia! Excited about knowing who his future schoolmates of the cohort are, he took a quick glance at the other names.

_Ookii Kanade, Warrior._

Oh no, that Kanade boy is a notorious bully in the whole of Prairie Town. That guy always bullies kids his age, espeically (helpless) girls. As he looked at more names, Shiki's mouth dropped open in shock as he saw the few words in front of his eyes.

_Amaya Kashikoi, Sorceress_.

A sorceress! Why the hell would they want to take the trouble to go all the way from Mana Ridge to Prairie Town? Also... Weren't they the race who were being the villains everytime and casted the spells on innocent 10-year-old kids?

That's... simply insanity.

He turned his head to look at the surroundings, only to come face-to-face with a masked girl slightly shorter than him.

She had short, baby pink hair, with some streaks of dark pink embedded in them. A rectangle shape made out of her fringe was in the middle, the rest of it on her sides. Her spikes on the back of her head were messily ruffled up, but otherwise she looks kind of neat. She was wearing a white top with a pink mini-skirt, with matching pink pumps. The girl smiled, her maroon eyes behind her red eye mask twinkling, then in a blink of an eye she vanished into thin air, her sweet scent being left behind.

Shiki was breathing heavily. He was like," Wow..." He was absolutely sure that was the sorceress. However her mask aroused curiosity inside him. Why a mask? Why not simply remove it? All this questions flooded his small mind. He took notice of a small-sized sentence right at the bottom of the page, and squinted his eyes to take a closer look at it.

"Please assemble at the soldiers' training field at 3.30pm"

The warrior took a good look at the Sun's position. It was approximately 3.15pm. As he walked out of the crowd now forming slowly in front of the board, he caught sight of the pinkette walking towards the field where the soldiers trained almost everyday. He then decided to follow her.

As he saw her entering the field, she was surrounded by boys almost immediately. A boy with a tall, thin physique punched her in the cheek forcefully, sending her flying onto the floor. Shiki gritted his teeth, seething with rage. He'd known that mean face anywhere.

Ookii Kanade.

Kanade was kicking and yelling out so loudly that even Shiki could hear from a distance. "I don't like the looks of you!" he spat out. The poor girl was crouching down on the floor, hand placed on her injured cheek. The other boys started pinching her cheeks, kicking her, abusing her in whatever way possible. Kanade then snatched the red mask away from her face.

"No!" a distant cry echoed out. "Don't look into my eyes!"

But Kanade didn't care, he just continued staring at her. Within moments he was immediately standing in an awkward position, half-squatting at the same time.

"What's this! I cannot move!" he yelled out.

The girl grabbed the mask without hesitation, put it on, ran away and hid behind a tall, sturdy tree. She leant against the trunk and sobbed softly. Shiki walked up to her and asked, "Are you alright?"

She sniffled, then smiled as she glanced at him. "Yeah, I'm fine." She lightly touched her cheek and winced in pain. The warrior produced a small bottle of ointment from his pocket and passed it to the girl. She accepted it with much gratitude.

"My name's Amaya. What's yours?" she said as she applied the ointment onto her badly bruised cheek.

"I'm Shiki."

There was an awkward silence for a moment, then he took out his glasses from his pocket and put it on. Then he removed the red mask from Amaya's face.

"No, stop! You will become immobilised!" Amaya protested. Shiki gestured to her, pointing at his pair of spectacles, signalling to her that it's alright.

"I know how to prevent myself from immobilization spells like this. It's alright," Shiki reassureed her. Amaya could only nod her head in response, still filled with utter uncertainty. The warrior then took a good look at her face.

He saw how different her face looked without the mask. Her skin complexion was fair, her maroon eyes being the most outstanding ones. That pink hair of hers seem to shine brightly under the sunlight. He smiled warmly, losing himself into the beautiful features of her real face.

Without thinking, the warrior pulled her face towards his and impulsively kissed her on the lips. He could see a tinge of red on her face as she struggled to let go. Tightening his grip on her back, he pulled her in closer and broke the kiss moment, clutching her to his chest and wrapping his hands around her.

"If others bully you ever again, I swear that I will be there for you."

A transparent drop of water escaped the corner of the brownish-red orb, leaving a wet trail behind it as it trickled down her light-coloured cheek.

* * *

><p>Ever since Kyuubi started hanging out with Yumi (she needed help in her moving about, anyway), the clerics, especially his best friend Jake, avoided him when they bumped into him. Kyuubi didnt understand why he was drifting further and further away from his group of friends. Every time they saw the white-haired cleric pushing the wheelchair, they would shoot mean and covetous glances. One day when Jake found Kyuubi alone in a corner he approached him warily. He cheerfully slapped his friend's shoulder.<p>

"Yo, dude!" he exclaimed in a masculine voice filled with friendliness. "What's wrong?" Kyuubi remained silent.

After a long while he spoke, "I thought you're supposed to ignore me like the others?" He sighed. Jake's expression changed as he furrowed his eyebrows.

He admitted, "Actually, we're not mad at you or anything. We're just pure envious of you, being able to hang out with the girl."

Kyuubi snapped in annoyance. "Why does everybody refer to her as 'that/the girl'? To make it worse the sorceresses call her a 'black sheep'! And she's not the odd one out, since she is also a student of this school! Some even pretend to forget her name and thus they just call her 'the girl without a name'! For the last time, she has one!" he roared at Jake, making the entire room shake. Each word in the last sentence was like a dagger, stabbing each word into the shocked cleric's brain.

"Okay, chill, Kyuubi!" he cried, in an attempt to stop his fuming friend. "I'm sorry, okay!"

"Right," Kyuubi grunted. "What's her name?"

Jake gulped. He had never bothered to know the archer's name; his only thing that was related to her is to admire her cuteness and snow-white beauty.

"If... if I remember it correctly..." he whimpered. "... it's... Yu... mi... Right?"

Kyuubi nodded, and his fierce expression eased up.

"Sooo... do you like her?" Jake asked, all of a sudden. Kyuubi stared straight into his friend's eyes. "I saw that hug," he continued, proving his conjecture with that only evidence.

_"Damn you, Jake..."_

"No," he lied while gritting his teeth. Jake just simply nodded. He waved his hand as a sign of goodbye, turned around and left. When his face was away from anyone's sight, his lips stretched into an evil smile as a plan devised in his mind.

_Just wait, Kyuubi... see what I can do to your dear Yumi..._

* * *

><p>Yumi was on her bed, being cornered by clerics, their eyes filled with viciousness and lust.<p>

"D-don't come near m-me!" she stuttered with fright. Her eyes contained much apprehension. Beads of sweat trickled down her face. She screamed in agony as one of the clerics ripped her clothing off, revealing her bandaged body. As hungry hands reached out for the removal of that one big dressing, she tried to fend them off, but to no avail. Her energy became expended, up to such a deep extent that she could barely breathe. She tried to scream as the hankering hands continued to touch her body, but her lips had been frozen in terror. As one pair finally loosened the dressing, she squealed in utter shock.

_No... this couldn't be happening! Someone! Help!_

Her eyes were squeezed shut, moisture dripping out continuously like a thin waterfall.

As she opened her eyes again, she found herself in reality. _The pain was... subsiding?_ She was trapped in a room that looked like some sort of a dungeon and chained to a circular board standing on the ground, limbs stretched out wide. She heard a loud manlike guffaw echoing around the area, but because her neck was also chained to the metallic board, she couldn't turn her head to see what was the cause of that sound.

"Having fun?" the voice scorned.

The source then came into view. He was a cleric who had about the same hairstyle as Kyuubi, only his hair was slightly coarse and wavy, with silver highlights running down the hairlines. His armour was just something that looked like a sweater, only it had the holy cross thing on it. He wore purplish gloves and boots, and his trousers glowed a dark, shiny black under the light. A sapphire-coloured rosary hung on his neck, the light blue colours inside swirling about.

"What... do you... want...?" the archer panted. The cleric then stroked her pale tear-stained cheek lightly, a smirk written on his face.

"How was that illusion?"

Yumi said nothing but inside, her heart was trembling with fear. An illusion? But why does it hurt so much?

As if her thoughts were being read, the silver-haired boy answered, "You see, I have the power of illusions that no one else holds. Illusions are just images, but I can make you feel the pain."

A teardrop of pain and sorrow escaped her jade orb.

"But why me...?" she enquired in a wobbly voice, face turning white.

"I want you to face the pains without _your_Kyuubi in a situation when you are completely rendered helpless." he replied in a menacing growl. "How does it feel to be accompanied by us?" Hearing the word "us", Yumi then realised that all the other clerics had surrounded her, deeply absorbed into the spell as well.

"Let me go..." she pleaded, weak from the illusion. "Please..."

He just threw his head back and laughed in amusement. "He doesn't love you, why does it matter if I let you go?" These words struck her heart like a knife stabbing every word into it. Producing a spell book from behind he grinned smugly. "Let's continue with the illusion, shall we?" He waved his gloved hand at her, a white wispy aura now surrounding his palm.

The chained archer, now a helpless prisoner to the cleric, tried not to shut her eyes as he directed the path of the aura towards her. "If I do... I might be sent back to the illusion again! I have to hang on!" Soon, her eyes evolved into red, swollen ones as she continued restraining her eyelid movement. Tears flowed down her cheeks, but she didn't care.

"Tsk, trying to stop the illusion?" her captor snapped. He kicked the filmy layer of dust that rested on the floor into the air, making some of them fly into her eyes. She shut her eyes tightly and winced in pain as the particles of dust entered them.

_"Oh no! I closed my eyes!"_

She then felt a sharp pain in her behind as she succumbed to the imaginary world once again and heard a familiar voice scream. Shit.

She realised it was hers as she gasped in horror at what (she thought and felt) was happening.

Multiple fingers were stuck into her. She knew it was the clerics, even with her eyes closed. Slowing opening her eyes, she was greeted with rapacious, ravish-looking faces. They all seemed to have the same evil smirk painted on their faces. Suddenly a cold gist of wind blew through the open window, making her shiver.

_That's right... her dressing was gone...  
><em>  
>As the clerics started touching her bare frame with their cold hands, images of Kyuubi flashed through her mind. They described him as dead, corpse lying there in the snow to decompose. He had a blatant expression of lifelessness on his whitish face, cuts and abrasions easily being contrasted from his complexion now drained of color, lips a matching shade of the blue snowy sky. White little circles decorated his dried and bloody clothes, forming it into a red-white polka-dot pattern.<p>

Cold hands... _Just like a zombie_.

She cried out in sorrow as she soon realised what was happening. Kyuubi, her beloved one, was dead, and she was being raped by these disgusting good-for-nothing ecclesiastics.

She was rendered helpless.

Just like a broken doll.

A broken doll that could never be repaired, ever again. A piece of it was missing, no, two pieces.

One was her virginity, which was about to be lost.

The other was Kyuubi.

She had lost two significant pieces of her entire life. They were like her heart and soul. Without them, her body would be meaningless. Crimson liquid trickled out from her mouth.

It was the side effects of the Glacial Spike.

That cursed ice attack gave her a new life challenge: anytime if she felt much depression and anguish, her heart would be damaged, until her sad feelings are washed away and replaced with happiness, then the injury would be "magically" healed on its own. No one knows how it happens, but it just does.

As she felt the blood-red liquid trickle down her mouth, she heard the evil chuckle of her captor. Was it a lie that he said? Or was he just simply lovesick over her, like the other clerics, and did this out of jealousy? She closed her eyes, tears welling up in her eyes once again.

The pain abruptly stopped. The archer opened her eyes in disbelief, droplets flying out of her emerald orbs. She was back in the "dungeon" once again. The cleric who became her captor was hit from the back by a lightning strike. At the same time, she noticed that the clerics had their eyes opened, stunned with shock at the intruder of the spell.

Kyuubi stood there, panting from slight fatigue as he clutched his long, slender wand tightly.

"Don't touch her," he hissed angrily. The cleric struggled to get up after receiving that heavy blow from his friend.

"How... How did you find out!" He asked, bewildered. He was very sure that this was done this in absolute secrecy.

"When you asked me if I liked Yumi, I had already suspected you. I didn't realise that you would go this far as to turn the dorms upside down just to find her room, and take her away to... this! Jake, you've gone too far!"

He gritted his teeth, obviously going to kill Jake out of anger. The latter timidly scampered out of the room hastily like a panicky mouse, with the other clerics previously under his control tailing him. Kyuubi ran over to the "imprisoned" Yumi, used his attacks to break the chains and supported her as her weak figure slumped onto the floor, her health deteriorating every second. As he clasped her frame tightly to his chest, a fresh outburst of blood escaped her mouth, flowing furiously and endlessly like water running out of a tap continuously. The liquid stained the back of his coat with a dark red stain.

"Yumi!" he cried, heart shattering into pieces as he felt the liquid becoming sticky on his back. She powerlessly heaved her thin arms over his neck.

"Stay put," she requested in a soft, energy-drained voice. He obeyed her and stood still, embracing her frame by the back and hip. She closed her eyes and sighed, barely audible. As she turned her head towards Kyuubi's, her lips lightly brushed against his face, making him slightly surprised and turned to face her. There their lips accidentally touched for a moment.

Yumi immediately pulled back, face filled with a mass of red. Kyuubi then leant forward and kissed the corner of her oral orifice, licking the excess blood trickling down from her mouth.

"It's no use, Kyuubi," she quietly said as he did so. "Only if I can be happy."

_She was fading away_, Kyuubi sensed. "But how?" he asked anxiously.

"I... I don't... know..." Her voice was wavering and her breathing became heavier. Kyuubi then realised how serious the Glacial Spike was. Pangs of guilt and regret hit his heart.

_No… Please don't fail me…_

How can he manage to keep her alive...? In this state...?

"Damn this world!" he screamed in anguish. "God, why aren't you there! Why don't you tell me what to do!"

Seeing him like this made the archer cry. "Stop, Kyuubi," she spluttered. "It's no use. I'll just have to pass on…"

That did it. "I won't let you die, Yumi!" His sudden outcry made her jump out of her skin. Seizing her into a bone-crushing hug, he shed tears of melancholy. Feeling a sudden wave of warmth inside, Yumi gasped as her body became replenished with the energy of life. Feeling the familiar warmth entering her limbs again, she gasped in surprise, this time out loud. She returned the hug.

"Yumi...! You're fine now?" He stared at her in disbelief.

She nodded. His azure orbs stared at her for a brief moment, then it was filled with bliss.

And then he kissed her. It was simply like magic, the way his lips connect to hers. It felt so right, and somehow, amongst the dizziness and the clinging on to his life line, something in her seemed to change, never allowed to be reversed, ever. This queer feeling could be dwelled upon later, because for now, she felt contented to feel his scented breath come and go with her own.

* * *

><p><strong>Phew, finally done XD -sweatdrop- I'm still stuck at 4k words woah :o<strong>

**NEW TARGET: 5k to 6k WORDS**

**BD**

**Lols. Remember to check my dA site for more artworks~ I'm currently working on fanarts for this chapter****, so please be patient if I am too slow ^^"**

**That's all, then! 12-year-old, signing out.**


	7. Time Rush

**Chapter 7: Time rush**

* * *

><p>"... Thank you, Jolie," the tall figure said as the student that just finished her self-introduction smiled smugly at everybody as she strutted down the aisle, back to her allocated seat.<p>

The tall figure, a male sorcerer, adjusted his spectacles as he checked who was up next for their self-introductory. He had long purple hair tied up into a high ponytail and was dressed in a white suit.

The self-introductory was an annual activity which the School of the Arts had organised for all freshmen to take part in so that everyone can know each other better.

He cleared his throat. "Next up, Shiki Chikara."

The warrior blinked. Was his name called? He dare not make a sound.

"Tick... Tick... Tick..."

The world that spun around him seemed to go in slow motion. The clock hanging alone on the wall made slow ticking noises. The second hand jerked little by little, however it was taking forever to finish an entire circle.

"I said, Shiki Chikara. Please come up here now," the sorcerer repeated, a hint of annoyance in his raspy voice. Shiki sighed, stood up from his seat, and trudged his way to the front. He stepped onto a small podium positioned at the very front of the classroom and faced his fellow classmates.

"I'm Shiki Chikara, a warrior." Shiki plainly said, obviously cannot be bothered with this whole silly activity. He had thought that this school was just all about advanced skilled training. Who knew that the first day of school has to start off with this... ridiculous activity? The teacher stared at him intensely with framed purple orbs, silently urging him to speak more about himself. The warrior rolled his eyes and let out a exasperated huff. Finally he spoke. "I wish to improve my skills here so that I can be one of the greatest in the whole of Lagendia!" he announced with great confidence. There was immediate murmuring amongst the big crowd of students before him.

"Greatest?"

"By the looks of it, I don't think he will ever make it."

"He's never better then Diana!" (Diana is the archer trainer in Prairie, if I'm not wrong)

"That's enough," the purple-haired teacher commanded haughtily. "Shiki, go back to your seat now," he said in his scratchy voice. "Next." He pushed up his spectacles along the bridge of his nose to get a better view of the name list in his hand. "Amaya Kashikoi."

Shiki blinked again. Was it the dust in the atmosphere? He wasn't sure. Just then, he spotted the pinkette plodding down the small gangway at the middle mark of the classroom. Her face was filled with uneasiness. Feet trembling, she finally stepped up onto the small rostrum. She stood silently, not letting out even a whisper.

"A sorceress?"

"What is she doing here?"

"My dad told me that sorceresses are taboos, y'know!"

"Silence!" the bespectacled figure boomed in a voice that shook everything like a raging earthquake. "You may start, Amaya." the normal clipped rough voice of his then called out. Through that scarlet mask of hers, Shiki could see those apprehensive purplish-red irises of hers.

"I... I..." Her tongue was unable to pronounce any words. She lowered her head, turning bright red in embarrassment. Murmuring and pointing among the students began, some of the boys laughing out loud, of course, one of them being the notorious bully Kanade.

"My name is Amaya Kashikoi and I'm a sorceress who wants to be one of the legendary heroes!" she announced in a clear voice, however it actually sounded that she was actually screaming. She then immediately lowered her head in shame, her face turning bright red.

A hand instantly shot up from the crowd. The teacher acknowledged the person who had raised his hand. "Yes, Mr Ookii?"

"Hey, teacher," he shouted out in a deep, gangster-like voice, "what's behind her mask? It's like some black magic!"

The whole room burst in laughter. "Black magic! That's ridiculous! There is no such thing!"

"It's true!" Kanade hollered, banging his table as he stood up, sending the entire classroom into absolute silence.

He rudely pointed a finger at the shy sorceress standing at the front. "She took out her mask and looked at me! Then my movements were frozen!"

Amaya looked up in shock. "That isn't true!" she exclaimed at the sentence that just framed her. But it was too late, everybody had already started the bad rumours going all because of that one little accusation. Of course, being the son of a rich merchant, who wouldn't dare to go against Kanade?

"So she does have black magic!"

"I can't believe it! One little girl tainting the great race of the sorceresses' names?"

"She's a taboo indeed!"

"She deserves to die!"

Amaya stood silently, her body trembling with fear.

"It isn't true..." she whimpered softly to herself. "It was the curse legend..."

Shiki could see that she was on the verge of tears. Feeling that he should stand up for her, he stood up, went over to Kanade's table and delivered a hard blow to his head with his right fist. In a fit, he overturned the table, sending it crashing onto the school bully.

"Stop accusing Amaya, you arrogant stuck-up bully!" he demanded, pointing a finger directly at Kanade's fierce indigo eyes. "You have done enough!" He then turned to the tall male in white and explained everything to him, "Teacher, it is not black magic. It is one of the many curses bestowed upon us children. This curse is regarding the Cursed Day."

Everybody gasped as they stopped the circulation of rumours. The Cursed Day is a taboo to speak of, for it includes the extermination of innocent human lives.

"Yes, I understand..." the purple-haired man spoke, in a more serious tone that no one has heard before. He then solemnly walked up to the front of the classroom, placing his hands on the table before him.

"It's time to tell you more about the Cursed Day, and it will also be your very first lesson..."

* * *

><p><em>"The Cursed Day is an annual event where sorceresses of the Lagendia army would be sent to every village. These skilled sorceresses would be ordered to cast spells on everyone who turned 10." That's what my teacher told me when I first joined.<em>

_Mother, father, I'm scared. What if I turn into a bad person, all because of the curse? I made two new friends; they're very sweet, especially Kyuubi. They really care for me, and I'm so glad I managed to make friends with them. If I turn evil... Would I harm them? Just the very thought of it scares me._

_It's so nostalgic, having such good friends here. It's like when Shiki and I were playing together._

_It's also the first time I've felt such feelings for someone. I... I don't want to leave Kyuubi..._

_I love him._

_Mother, father, will you give me your blessings?_

_From your daughter,_

_Yumi_

The door groaned as it creaked open. A familiar white-haired figure stood by the doorway. Out of surprise, the archer let out a little squeak as she tried to hide the letter.

"Hm?" white-haired Kyuubi mused. "What are you doing, Yumi?" he asked curiously.

"Uhm..." Yumi was at a loss of words. How was she supposed to tell him that she was writing a letter to her parents, and was writing about him approximately a minute ago? Even if she simply said she's writing a letter, Kyuubi would snoop his nose further in and ask what is it about.

"Erm..."

Kyuubi chuckled to himself as he walked slowly towards the blushing archer. He gently pecked her whitish forehead.

"You're too honest, Yumi," he smiled as his knees bent so that his head was on the same level as the white-haired archer's. Staring directly into his sapphire orbs, she turned pink with embarrassment.

"Erm, Kyuubi, Ms Marilyn said that we will be going on a trip to Prairie tomorrow, so are you going...?" she asked nervously. The brown-haired teacher had mentioned that it was not compulsory, so she wanted to know, at least, if the cleric was going. She walked to her sky blue- coloured bed and sat on it, Kyuubi mimicking her actions.

"It's your hometown, right?" He pulled her in close and nuzzled her white head lovingly. "I'm not sure if you have any good friends there to help you when you're in trouble, but do you want me to come along?"

_Good friends...?_

_... Shiki... _

"I wonder how Shiki is doing now..."

"Shiki?" Kyuubi asked curiously. "Is he your friend?"

"Yes..." Yumi said softly. "One of my only friends..."

"I see..." He didn't know what to say, after hearing that this little sweet archer sitting before him had so little friends. Does this very fact made him special to her?

He didn't know. But one thing's for sure.

_He'll go to protect her._

* * *

><p>"The Cursed Day," the teacher paused to clear his throat, before continuing, "was once an annual event where sorceresses of the Royal Family would go to every part of the entire Lagendia, to create a curse "massacre", bestowing curses and deadly spells upon innocent lives above the age of ten. Truth be told, this event is still ongoing, but they have changed from a one-year interval to five."<p>

"But, isn't it good?" Shiki asked.

"No..." The sorcerer lowered his head. "In fact, more people will age over ten, and that's where more curses will be done." He pulled his left long sleeve up to his shoulder, revealing a gory sight that made everyone cringe.

Instead of a human arm, a monstrous limb took its place. It didn't look like a hand at all, it was practically chunks of red, fleshy meat. Everyone screamed in horror.

"I know this is pretty disgusting to look at, but you must all learn." He pulled the sleeve down. "There are two ways the curse comes in; physically and mentally. My hand curse started appearing reddish when I was about five years old, but I was still inflicted with the curse years later, hence my hand has "mutated" into this state." He did the inverted comma-ed mutated with his fingers. "Amaya's curse is also a physical example; when people look in her eyes, their movements will be frozen, and furthermore she will go slightly insane. _That_," the teacher emphasised, "is her curse."

Everyone started murmuring.

"Such a horrible curse!"

"I think others have worse!"

"What if we have it!?"

The purple-haired man silenced then with a raised hand, before continuing.

"As for the mentally inflicted curse, it affects the victim's mind in such a way that every now and then, his or her mind would break for a certain amount of time. During this time, they will attack people and won't stop till the time is up."

"_Mentally..._" Shiki thought, a sorrowful look on his face. "_That's... what happened to Uncle and Auntie..._"

"So, this school was created, to overcome the curses inherited by our parents. Since we will be affected eventually, we will help you all overcome this curse and become great fighters!" The tall teacher figure punched his fist in the air.

"Yeah!" The entire class cheered.

Once the noise had died down, the teacher introduced himself with a humble bow. "My name is Shen (神)."

"Now, a boarding school in Mana Ridge will be visiting us tomorrow. They will be observing our lessons. We will also be having a friendly match with them, so let's start our training today!"

The pinkette looked scared, Shiki noticed. He felt worry filling his heart.

* * *

><p>During break time, at the grassland outside the building, the blonde warrior ran up to the sorceress, tapping her shoulders. Amaya, being scared out of her wits, jumped in fright, her mask almost falling.<p>

"Hey, hey," Shiki assured her. "It's me." The sorceress then relaxed.

"You're... Shiki?"

"Yeah!" The warrior let out a goofy grin. "So... Who do you think we're gonna meet tomorrow?"

Amaya seemed deep in thought. "Mana Ridge is the holy land for sorceresses and clerics... So maybe... we'll meet lots of clerics and sorceresses..."

"I know..." Shiki murmured. Of course he would know that. Who doesn't?

Amaya looked slightly shocked. "Did I scare you...? I'm sorry!" She began bowing to the blonde hastily.

"Hey, hey, we're still in school..." He sweatdropped.

Shiki felt longing yet worry welling up inside him like raging waters. If Mana Ridge... then Yumi would be there... but what if...

What if she didn't recognise him, ever again?

As if she was reading his mind, Amaya patted Shiki's shoulder. "I'm sure your friend will remember you..." She smiled, a smile that was simple yet unusual.

A smile that was special... to him alone.

The warrior smiled. His hazel irises that were once clouded dull with worry now sparkled brightly with enthusiasm. He looked up at the sky.

_"Yumi, watashi o oboete iru..."_

* * *

><p>Once Kyuubi had left her room, Yumi immediately bolted to the toilet, grasping the basin and began coughing. A long, slender finger from her right hand placed itself under her chin. When she brought it up, it was laced with crimson blood.<p>

_When will this stop...?_

Coughs became more violent. In less than a minute, almost the entire interior surface was stained with a deep shiny red. The archer's eyes were brimmed with tears.

Hands trembling, figure shaking, she knelt onto the floor, palms still stuck onto the ceramic basin like super glue. Her crystalline tears escaped her sapphire irises, splashing into the thick pools of scarlet.

"Mother, father, Shiki, Rose, Kyuubi..." she choked out, in utter sorrow. She knew that her disease had begun to take its toll.

"_I don't want to worry you..._"

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the mages were discussing something in one of their rooms.<p>

"Hey," Yukiko chimed out. "I heard that the Prairie girl has a friend in Prairie Town."

"Warrior?" Chie stuck out her tongue as she grabbed a pencil and sketched a small figure on her notebook.

"Yup," another sorceress said. "I hid my presence, snuck into her room and read her diary. Apart from Kiyomizu, she mentioned someone else... Shiki, I think."

"Hmm, we can use that to our advantage. I can't wait for tomorrow to come..." the pink-haired elemental lord mused. Suddenly, an idea struck her hard. "Hey, Yukiko! Can you use the ancient time skill?"

"The only time skill I have is temporarily stopping time and speeding up your skills' colling down time..."

"The ancient time magic is to speed up OUR real time. As a force user, you should be able to do it."

"Wait," a white-haired mage sitting nearby interrupted. "Isn't that... forbidden magic?" Forbidden magic skills are those skills used in the ancient times, but they were so powerful that they overwhelmed the users, and eventually died. This time management skill is also forbidden, although it was one of the weakest ancient skills.

"We have to speed up time, so that we can carry out our "plan" quickly."

"We haven't devised a plan yet!"

"That sounds like a challenge, Chie." Yukiko smirked.

"I'll take it."

* * *

><p><strong>Long time no see " ANYWAY, this is very short, cos' I was seriously rushing, with my homework, and blah blah blah.<strong>

**Sorry, guys, but I gotta go! Cos' I rushed this, that's why it has lots of mistakes and some parts are kinda... ambiguous. I'll put more in the next chapter!~ **

**Until then, _j_a_ ne__!~_**


	8. Against my will

**Konnichiwa, minna-san!~**

**First of all, I would like to thank the people who have reviewed on this story so far:**

**My lovely "mommy", _Shiwafuri Ai_**

**_Jinkunoshi_**

**_chisanabatta_**

**_~Lullzyy_ on deviantART**

**My goodness, I really never expected reviews (to those who reviewed), after not having updated for like, so long :'0 Thank you so much, all of you ;_; I'll get to your criticisms in your reviews soon, so do expect something better! (hopefully XO)**

**To _~Lullzyy_ on dA: LOL I FINALLY UPDATED. WOOT. I hope this chapter meets your satisfaction! :))**

**For now, enjoy~**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 8 : Against my will<strong>

* * *

><p>The purple-haired mage strutted to the basement like a model. This basement was under utmost secrecy. Not even the teachers know.<p>

Only the sorceresses.

Yukiko stood in the middle of the room, staff in hand. She twirled the weapon around, the bright pink jewel beginning to shine at the same time. Words, possibly chants, escaped her slim lips.

_O lords of the sky, grant us thee_

_Thy power to control the waters_

_To twist and turn around the clock_

_Now, as I speak, thy awakens_

_Time, turn faster in the waves..._

* * *

><p>The little archer sat on her bed, staring up at the ceiling blankly. So many thoughts were filling her mind. Tomorrow, the school would go to the one in Prairie Town, and there was a high chance that she would meet Shiki there.<p>

"I wonder what will happen tomorrow..."

Night had already fallen, and everyone would normally go to sleep, for this day.

This visitation was to go to Prairie Town's School of the Arts, where the best fighters would soar against Prairie's students in friendly matches. Since the biannual fighting event hosted by the boarding school in this town of never-ending snow, Kyuubi and Yumi have been chosen to fight.

But, what will happen when her friends, her family sees her? What would they ask? "How was Mana Ridge?" "Did you meet some great people there?" "Have you gotten stronger?"

Yep, definitely that.

Her thoughts burnt off her tiredness, making her stay awake for another fifteen minutes or so. Yumi then decided to take a quick shower, thinking that it will soothe her muscles.

* * *

><p>The water pattered on her pale skin softly. As she scrubbed the soap bar gently against her pale skin, a look of dismay immediately washed over him.<p>

She felt so dirtied, so... stained.

Even though it was all an illusion, it was so real, so traumatising, it scared the hell out of her.

She screamed in agony as one of the clerics ripped her clothing off, revealing her bandaged body.

"No...!"

The bar of soap slipped from her hands as she pulled at her snow white hair. Her mind was filled of that terror, those horrible nightmares.

"Stop! I don't want to see those things! No!" she screamed out in psychological fear.

Squatting down, she buried her face in her knees and cried.

"No..."

The water then became a thin, steady river of red, trickling down the tiles and towards the drain.

* * *

><p>Kyuubi sat on his bed, staring at the snow from the window floating down from the sky like leaves.<p>

He hated to admit, he really did not want the archer to go. It...

_It was too dangerous_.

"Yumi..." his lips mouthed as he watched the fluff-like snow drifting downwards, never seem to be ending.

White...

_Yumi..._

He sighed and closed his eyes, about to doze off. A memory filled his mind gently like the winds...

* * *

><p><em>It was a sunny snowing morning. Three-year-old Kyuubi was playing with the snow, building sandcastles and whatnot, when suddenly a boy about his age stomped over to him.<em>

_"Hey, you," the boy snorted rudely as he pointed a finger at the young cleric. "Why does it keep snowing over here?"_

_"Eh, snow?" Little Kyuubi was taken aback. Why would people ask about the snow, these fluffy things that would never stop raining down?_

_Like this entire holy land was a well, with snow rain dripping slowly into it, slowly making a puddle._

_The boy frowned in annoyance, and grabbed the kid cleric's clothes in anger. "I repeat, why does it snow?"_

_"I... I don't know!" Kyuubi wailed as he struggled to free himself from the bully's grip. "I only know that it has already been snowing here since I was born!"_

_For a moment, he thought he saw furious doubt flash in the older boy's brown chestnut eyes, red with fury. The older one then brutally three him onto the ground._

_"Che," he scoffed as he walked away. "You're of no use to me, the King of Prairie Town. If we meet someday," he stopped as split into a menacing toothy grin, before continuing, "I will personally crush you, you little useless servant."_

* * *

><p>Now that he thought of it, that bully was probably roleplaying as the "king" of Prairie Town, him being rudely called a servant and all, but...<p>

His accent was so native-like, such that it had this... _unique_ tweak in it.

_Just like Yumi's voice._

If that bully really came from Prairie Town, then...

A piercing scream then abruptly came from next door.

* * *

><p>The white-haired archer gasped as she felt the surroundings begin to swallow everything. Clock-like pictures then popped up on the walls, the objects, <em>everything<em>.

She felt the air sucking everything into a nearby black hole, making the curtains do a flappy unnatural dance of fright.

"What's happening!?" she screamed out loud in utter fear.

The door opened and Kyuubi hurriedly rushed in. "Yumi!" he gasped as he saw the archer clinging desperately onto a nearby cupboard. Almost immediately, he was being carried up and spinning into the air.

"Whoa!" He spun in circles with lightning speed. Everything spun around like a roller coaster, making him so dizzy that he could only see white stars sprouting before his vision.

He noticed that the surroundings were not the usual blue colour of the room, but a starry sky that made it seemed they were circling about in midair.

He felt confused. What in the world is going on?!

Just then, he noticed the archer's grip slip from the cupboard, and saw her beginning to whiz around in the air as well. He could see her arms flailing wildly, her snow white locks furiously flying about unevenly.

"Bam!"

Their heads knocked against one another as all the furniture quickly settled down in their original places. Within a blink, the night background then faded away, back to the azure colour of the room walls.

Kyuubi and Yumi were sprawled about on their bed, panting heavily and sweating profusely. Yumi unconsciously grabbed the cleric's arm and pulled herself towards his body.

A worried frown painted itself on his face as he gently placed a hand on the archer. "What just happened?" he thought. Glancing at the window, he noticed the sunlight streaming through the window.

_It's morning...?_

_But... it was nighttime just a few minutes ago!_

Yumi must have noticed it too, because her emerald eyes contained what seemed to be absolute confusion. "Did time just... skip...?"

Kyuubi rubbed the back of his sore head. It definitely wasn't a dream.

_What's going on?_

* * *

><p>Shiki blinked in astonishment as he stepped out of the shower. He had showered when it was nighttime, and now, it's already morning...?<p>

Suddenly, he screamed in shock. "I took more than three hours to shower!?"

He paced back and forth in the room in panic, desperately pinching himself to make sure this wasn't a dream.

The sunlight made his yellow sunshine hair shine under the light, making it give out a golden hue. A thought then suddenly struck him like a rock.

_It's morning..._

_Would this mean... Yumi is coming soon?_

* * *

><p>A knock then came from the door. As Yumi opened it, she spotted Miss Marilyn standing by the doorway, her fisted hand still staying at the position which she knocked at the door with. Eyebags of a tint of black were painted just under her eyes. Her eyes were bloodshot red, instead of a normal white. It was clearly understandable that she has not gotten a good night's rest.<p>

"Good morning, Yumi and Kyuubi," she smiled tiredly. "Today's the trip to Prairie, so I'd like to see the both of you all prepared at the hall in about five minutes."

"Yes... Miss..." Yumi nodded as the teacher walked away, on the way to inform the other students in their rooms. She then turned to the cleric.

"... I'm really worried about Miss Marilyn..." she said quietly. Her elven ears also drooped down with sadness.

Kyuubi patted her shoulder. "It'll be alright. Miss Marilyn is a tough nutcase; she can hang in there." His lips turned into a small smile that lifted up the elf's spirits.

Yumi's face split into a bright smile that shone like the sun. "Thanks, Kyuubi."

He embraced her tightly for a fee moments, before he left her room to change up.

As the door closed behind him, Yumi closed her eyes tightly as the pain overwhelmed her. Fresh blood steadily trickled down her lips as tears unwillingly spilled out of her eyes.

"Please... please don't happen," she muttered, "when I'm in Prairie..."

* * *

><p>As the students of the Prairie School of the Arts assembled in the main hall, the atmosphere became extremely dense as the purple-haired teacher stepped forward.<p>

He cleared his throat before he spoke in his deep, sharp voice, "Students of the school, after looking through all of your statistics, we teachers have come to a decision to who is going to spar against the Mana Ridge students."

A commotion immediately struck up as the young archers and warriors murmured some of their opinions.

"I wonder who it'll be?"

"I heard that the Mana Ridge people are strong!"

"I don't wanna go! Please don't choose me!"

The teacher clapped his hands together, sending the students into a wave of utter silence.

"Allow me to read out the names of the chosen ones..." Shen then magically produced a piece of paper from nowhere, and began to read out from it.

"Since they have chosen two of their students, we will do the same. The names are Ookii Kanade..."

Everyone cheered as Kanade smirked triumphantly. Naturally as one of the most strongest kids in the town, everyone found it an honour to see him fight.

"... and Shiki Chikara."

Everyone hushed down to a whisper. Shiki, the boy who stood up for someone who was supposedly a taboo, was chosen?

Amaya smiled at Shiki. "You're chosen!" she exclaimed, obviously happy for him.

As if on cue, a bell sounded, its melodious chime echoing through the hall. Everyone turned to the source of the bell; the entrance to the hall was filled with people.

At the front lines, just standing before the clerics and some good sorceresses, Yumi and Kyuubi stood, their hands linked. The archer's eyes seemed apprehensive, as she took a nervous glance at the whole crowd of students. To think that she was going to fight with two of them, the people from her very own hometown.

Would she die?

Kyuubi squeezed her hand lightly, and gave her an encouraging smile. "It'll be alright, Yumi. Just do your best."

As Shiki took notice of her returning the cleric's smile, negative emotions built up inside him. Why is a cleric with her? Why is she even...!

He balled his hand into a tight fist as feelings of jealousy overwhelmed his very soul. Why is Yumi with someone from the snowy land of sorceresses?

Just the very thought of it made him angry. Yumi shouldn't be with a person like this...

He then mentally slapped himself. "What am I thinking?" he thought. "I'm being possessive now... As her frien -"

He stopped in his train of thoughts. _Does Yumi... treat him only as a friend?_

"Now," the teacher's loud voice rang in his ears, "let's give the students of Mana Ridge a warm welcome!"

A loud applause resounded from the Prairie students, with some cheers and whoops.

"I'm looking forward to the sorceresses!" an archer said excitedly.

The Prairie students then spotted a brown-haired teacher, who was leading the Mana Ridge students earlier on, making her way up to the stage. She cleared her throat, before speaking with a voice that tinkled like little bells.

"It is an honour to be here. I am Miss Marilyn Yasuhiro, a teacher representing Mana Ridge." The crowd gave her a loud applause.

"Today, I will be presenting to you, the students from our school that will be taking part in the friendly match." She waved her hand towards Yumi and Kyuubi, who was standing in a corner. "Let me introduce you... Kimura Yumi and Kyuubi Kiyomizu!"

A gasp echoed out from the Prairie crowd as the duo walked up onto the stage. What was an elf doing here? In the school of Mana Ridge?

Shiki widened his eyes. He was going to fight against Yumi...?

Shen then clapped his hands together. "Excellent! Let's all get to the arena now. It'll be an exciting match!"

* * *

><p>The arena was an old temple area. Moss and wild plants grew at the corners of it. Each side had a circular area that had a little opening to the actual area; perfect to run around and warm up, and ambushing the enemy.<p>

Yumi grinned at Kyuubi as she stretched her arms, obviously excited for this match. The cleric nodded as he took out his mace and shield, ready to attack any time.

The archer was dressed in a thick orange leathery dress, with baggy sleeves that flapped about gently in the wind. Her leggings were of a deep mahogany colour, with a matching quiver. Chestnut brown mittens and boots wrapped itself around her arms and legs respectively.

Kyuubi was dressed in a white coat, with a light blue shirt underneath. His pants were chalky white, and his boots were of the same colour, with an additional silver metal-like pair of soles.

On the other side, Kanade was cleaning his axe.

"I don't understand why I have to team up with a brat like you," he grumbled as Shiki calmly pulled on his gloves.

"Exact statement back to you," he replied, a vein popping up on his forehead. Of all people, he had to team up with the number one bully in Prairie Town.

Readying his sword, the blonde warrior gestured to his rough rude teammate to get ready to run in and attack.

"Let's go."

* * *

><p>From the magic lacrimas that allowed the rest of the people to act as spectators for this match, the crowd breathed heavily.<p>

"I hope the archer can do this... she's against Kanade..."

"I think the cleric can win Shiki! He looks strong!"

The teachers stared intensely at the lacrima that showed the sharpshooter against the Prairie bully.

"Please, please don't have a relapse, Yumi..." Miss Marilyn prayed as she held her hands to her heart, her eyes tightly shut.

"_Ganbatte masu, Yumi..._"

* * *

><p><strong>I'm sorry if some thing weren't clear; it's just that I was too excited to update this story, that I became lazy to clarify some things. But all will be cleared in the next chapter!<strong>

**Some food for thought:**

**-How do you think Yumi will fare against Kanade?**

**-How would Shiki fight Kyuubi with his negative feelings?**

**-Do you think Yumi will get a relapse?**

**That's all for this chapter! I hope to see you soon!~**

**Oh, and I'm turning fourteen this year :3 I started this story last year, but I wasn't thirteen yet:) hipe this clarifies some unsaid stuff, lawls**


	9. Behind the Lies

**Hey guys! It's March, and exams are over!**

**So I was mugging for exams and then I got horrendous results, but it's okay, it's over, and I amazingly got one of the highest marks for my papers amongst my classmates. Screw logic.**

**Also, I've been thinking of starting an account in Dragon Nest Europe, thanks to ~_Lullzyy_ on deviantART. Dang, Lull, now it's your fault XD So yeah, I'll make an account if I get the time. In the meantime, you can send me a PM in DNSEA, Springwood, via _4nimeNut_ or _KimuraYumi_**

**I've been thinking if I should change my updates to every two weeks or a month. If you'd like, you can review and give me your own opinions! ^~^**

**Nya~ back to the story. I present to you, chapter 9.**

* * *

><p>Chapter 9: Behind the Lies<p>

* * *

><p>Andrew and Zoe were walking along the pavements of Prairie Town, strolling with joy and peace, until they saw a large crowd gathered at the small training field of the small forest town.<p>

"What's going on?" Zoe muttered as she spotted a large lacrima in the middle of the crowd, floating just above the grass. A small monitor buzzed just above the lacrima, big enough for everyone to watch what was happening.

The older warrior took a good look at the screen as he squinted his eyes to visualise the situation carefully.

"Now, as we proceed with this battle," a crackled voice hovered over the speakers just near the spectators, "the archer has just met head on with the mercenary! Who will win?"

"Archer...? I wonder who is that..." the mother archer muttered as she caught sight of a white-haired elf from the monitor screen, advancing nimbly towards the warrior.

"I hope it's not Yumi..."

* * *

><p>The bully met the elf in a narrow alleyway leading to the bridge.<p>

"Heh, hey there girlie," Kanade smirked triumphantly. A nervous Yumi took in a deep breath as beads of sweat trickled down her forehead.

_She knew this guy, she knew how strong he was._

"Kanade," she muttered. "Still rough as ever, I guess."

"Hah! You bet 'cha!" The notorious bully let out a nasty grin as he used his axe to launch a flaming cannonball towards her, in which the archer swiftly dodged effortlessly. "What about you, Yumi? What happened to your abilities?" he called out mockingly.

The white-haired elf gritted her teeth furiously as she steadied herself on the stone-paved floors. She had always hated that guy and the way he asks, the way he does things, everything. It was not even a wonder he was hated, and ironically, feared, by most of the young promising fighters in Prairie Town.

He was too _dominating_.

"I don't see why I should answer you," Yumi stated coolly as she dodged yet another ball swung towards her. She planted her right leg behind, pulling her bowstring with an arrow. Letting go, the arrow shot forward like a bullet. Kanade barely dodged it as the arrow scraped his cheek, letting a scratch form on his skin.

Her lips formed into a smile as she witnessed Kanade clasp a hand over the scratch, biting his lip in slight agony. Just then, he looked up at him, his now amber eyes glowing a deep fiery red.

_His eyes were akin to those of a beast, flaring crimson with fury._

"Playtime's over, girlie," he growled.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, the blonde warrior was thrown against a wall by a relic as Kyuubi summoned a white relic from the air.<p>

Of all things, he had to fight a priest.

"Grr..." Shiki growled in anger as the relic let out a lemon yellow hue, causing sunshine holy hoops to bind his body together. He glared angrily into the cleric's sapphire eyes as the latter inched closer to him, before raising his hand up, summoning big holy bolts from the heavens.

Kyuubi stared at him with a stoic expression, as if he had no feelings for the amount of preciousness to a human life.

_Amber._

_The same colour as his eyes._

The warrior shut his eyes as the rays of holiness engulfed him, bracing himself for the pain that would kill his soul.

...

He felt a slight twitch in his heart.

...

But nothing happened.

"Eh?" Shiki blinked in confusion as Kyuubi smiled at him. Was this a farce? Or had he set a time bomb inside him? Why had nothing happened?

He then noticed, the cleric's smile contained not hatred, but _trust_.

"You aren't a bad person," the young cleric stated as he held out a hand to the warrior. "My holy attacks only affect those whose harbour evil intentions in their heart, unlike other priests whose attacks affect everything. That's part of my inborn inability," he explained. "It is no wonder why Yumi really likes you."

"I see..." Shiki mused, deep in thought. He thought that he would be on good terms with this cleric at that moment. But...

_..._

_"It is no wonder why Yumi really likes you."_

_..._

_What did he mean?_

_Did he meant, Yumi likes him? Or just simple as friends?_

"What's your relation with Yumi?" These words tumbled out of his mouth before he knew it. He clamped a gloved hand over his mouth as he realised what he had said, his eyes widened in horror. Kyuubi gave him a quizzical look, raising a thin white eyebrow.

After a moment of thinking, the white haired cleric began, "Well, we are in a -"

A piercing scream cut into his statement.

Instinctively, both boys spun their head towards the source. They immediately knew what it was.

Yumi.

* * *

><p>Both the swordsboy and priest dashed along the secluded pathway, towards the bridge. The walls were stony, covered in deep green moss. As Shiki let his hand scrape the walls, he felt a soft sensation in between his fingers. The moss then dissipated into the flow of the wind as he rubbed his fingertips together.<p>

From the bottom of the steep staircase, they could see a huge tornado, whirling in circles from afar. Its size resembled the real statue of the Goddess Altea before them.

Only, it emitted a menacing aura of black.

Rushing up the stairs, Kyuubi summoned a relic just in time for it to become swept up easily into the enormous whirlwind. He shuddered at the thought of what would happened if he had not called up the relic and went forward instead.

As they watched the gigantic cyclone endlessly spinning around, they could see the bully mercenary swinging his axe around at a rapid speed, gathering strong winds to generate the tornado. They could also see Yumi being carried about in circles, the evil energy in the cyclone itself sucking her life force away.

"Yumi!" both the warrior and the priest screamed out as they tried to stop Kanade. From a holy bolt, to desperate neon blue slashes splitting the air, attempting a shockwave, to forward-moving cleaves in the shape of crescents.

However hard they tried, they could not stop the monstrous cyclone.

Shiki felt a sense of desperation welling up inside him like raging flood waters. He wanted to save Yumi, he wanted to stop that bastard Kanade from hurting her, or even worse, killing her. He wanted to kick his ass even though they were both on the same team.

But what could he do?

Everything he had done seemed futile.

Kyuubi, on the other hand, did not stop trying to halt the cyclone. He summoned as many relics and shockwaves as he could, but instead almost got swept up on his feet. He could feel his heart thumping rapidly against his chest anxiously, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. He was running out of his life strength soon, and...

_His beloved Yumi was slowly being taken away before his very eyes._

A deafening "snap" resounded as her longbow, made out of the finest wood, snapped into two pieces and got blown away towards the sky. Pieces of her dress was slowly ripped away, revealing parts of her pallid skin.

Kyuubi could see her face, scrunched up into one of extreme agony. His sapphire eyes widened.

He had witnessed that expression before...

_Her eyes, the source of those tears, were filled with extreme dejection..._

No, he did not want that to happen ever again...

...He did not want to lose her.

"STOOOPPP!" he screamed out loud as fresh crystalline tears erupted in his devastated eyes. He continuously called up bind relics, surrounding the spinning tornado, not giving a thought of his draining energy.

He just wanted to save Yumi.

At long last, the combined power of the bind relics planted on the bridge released a large golden hue, forming a huge shining yellow bind that pulled Kanade's hands and legs together. He struggled in futility as his axe crashed onto the ground with a thunderous "clang". Shiki saw the falling elf and quickly dashed forward in order to catch her in his arms.

With a soft landing, the unconscious sharpshooter fell into the blonde warrior's grasp. He jumped off the bridge and landed on the soft mossy grass below, away from the stuck warrior's attacking range.

As he stared up at Kyuubi, who was busy with the mercenary, his eyes burned, before he hopped away to a safe spot.

"I'll catch up to you later, Kyuubi Kiyomizu."

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, Kanade finally struggled to break free from the bind. He stared at the priest from the middle of a circle formed from multiple lightning relics. With a insane smirk, he glared straight into the azure eyes of the cleric.<p>

"I didn't expect that to work. Great job, cleric."

The holy priest sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose in sarcasm, "... The name's Kyuubi."

"Heh, Kyuubi?" The mercenary's irises glinted an evil scarlet. "I'll remember that. You're pretty good."

"Enough about this nonsense!" the white-haired cleric yelled. "You have injured my teammate so much, even to the near extent of death! I cannot forgive that!"

"Right," the bully of Prairie Town gave a nasty grin. "And I suppose you two are in a relationship?"

Kyuubi froze on the spot._ How... how did he know?_

As if reading his mind, the warrior rolled his eyes. "It's pretty obvious, duh. I guess only that dumbo 'ere in my team ain't that fast. He's really stupid, trying to protect a sorceress from your damned village... I don't get why Yumi has to go there and be with you and those dratted sorceresses."

At that moment, Kyuubi just _burst_.

He raised a hand, hot white lightning shooting out from it. It struck the mercenary deep from head to toe. Kanade shrieked in pain as his insides slowly got burned by the shock waves flowing through in him by the lightning.

"Don't talk that way to my home." Now, the cleric's expression was stoic, his eyes emitting a sinister aura.

Before they knew it, there was a loud chime, signalling the end of the match.

* * *

><p>Yukiko began coughing up blood as Chie clasped her shoulder, a look of anxiousness on her face.<p>

"Yukiko!" Sayori, a young sorceress with white hair, gasped as she watched the purple-haired mage continuously hacking up vital fluids. The pinkette rubbed the sick mage's back, in an attempt to stop the coughing.

"It seemed that the ancient spell had taken the toll on her body," a deep voice spoke out. Chie spun her head around to find Miss Marilyn standing before her.

"Miss!" Chie widened her eyes in shock. "B-but... Why are you here? I thought you're at Prairie!"

"Obviously this is just a hologram, Chie," the teacher said with a soft mocking voice. "Haven't I taught you in the spells class?" This seemed like a normal statement, but to the evil sorceress, it was more than a simple sentence.

The pink sorceress bit her lip, before placing the dying mage onto the ground carefully. She then faced the projected figure and knelt down on the stony floor.

To gain the trust of others and throw them away like chess pieces.

_That_, was what Marilyn Yasuhiro had as her motto behind the curtains of her little play.

"Yes, Master." Chie bowed.

* * *

><p>Deep in the forest of Aderaline, a curious elf was wandering through the dark, eerie pathways of the shunned area. As she walked on the fallen leaves, soft rustling of the leaves could be heard. She jumped back at the sound, fearing for it to be an enemy, but instead there was nothing.<p>

It was evident that deep in this forest where light could not even stream in, anything could happen.

The archer then abruptly stopped her movements before a large, stone door, being able to sense a sinister, almost _evil_ aura swimming around it. To the right she could see a frozen statue of what seemed to be like a clothed rabbit holding a watch in its tiny paw, while sitting on another frozen cube. The only thing that made it stood out was its gleaming crimson red eyes.

She frowned. "So, this is where I have to investigate... eh?" Pulling a hand over where her heart was, she did a silent briefing to herself. She would always stand in silence whenever she approached a scene worth investigating. Muttering her given name bestowed upon by her benefactor, she raised her head.

"I, Anime Nut, will start investigating this area in one minute."

* * *

><p><strong>End of Chapter 9<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Aha! A twist in the story! Did you expect the kind Miss Marilyn to actually be plotting something sinister? Maybe you did! If you had, you're awesome! *hands a donut*<strong>

**Also, a new character appears! This was something my 'sister' (M4ngaNut ingame) had requested quite a while ago: for us to appear in this story! After thinking for a while I thought I will start with this chapter! There may be a complete stop to that particular extract of the entire storyline but you'll see us Nut sisters soon!**

**I hope you've enjoyed this chapter! Special thanks to the readers (you!), my followers and those who favourited and followed this story! I love you all! =D**


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